Bona Fide Hero
by Mercymadness
Summary: Sakura is a hero wannabe with a blood stained past, determined to prove to herself she is a good person. With her unique quirk, she WILL become a hero, and prove to herself one can atone for their sins. Or, will someone show her that she can forgive herself?
1. Bone Tired

A small group of five kids and two adults rode in their small rusted grey minivan on the way to the closest history museum. Traffic wasn't that busy, so the trip was going pretty fast. They made their way around any larger groups of cars without much problem. A white haired girl stuck in the chaos of children in said van felt rather claustrophobic and motion sick in the rocking vehicle.

The thought of finally having a field trip was the only thing pulling her through. The orphanage didn't have much cash for special occasions like these.

She was always stuck in between the pair of brown-haired twins to keep them from bickering, but that just meant they ended up picking on her together. There were two slightly younger children in the back that were busy pulling at her new snowy colored hair, which has manifested a month ago, fading in from her light blond locks. The doctors said it was apart of her quirk, and they had to wait a bit longer to see what else manifested.

The twin to her left kept pinching her, testing out her new skin which had gone from a light tan to a snow white color. Her skin barely had any elasticity, so he wasn't very successful. The twin to her right kept trying to poke her eye out, which turned from a blue to a sunflower yellow color. The new changes she developed fascinated them, and she, would have found it flattering, if they weren't so invasive of her personal space.

Secretly, Mai Sakura worried she would just keep getting whiter and whiter until she was just a glowing ball of whiteness. Or she would turn invisible and disappear altogether. She had no idea who her parents were or what their quirks happened to be, so theoretically her quirk could be anything. But after two weeks of waiting, it seemed like that the extent was harder than normal skin and hair. At least that's what she thought.

The museum trip had been going well. The group of children filed into the building and had begun the tour, looking around at beautiful gemstones and rusted or broken ancient artifacts. Their two guardians had been fussing over one of the younger children that began to feel sick, which left the rest of the children with the pretty blue haired museum guide, who was telling them facts about all the beautiful stones around them.

A beautiful clear stone with rainbows refracting inside had particularly caught their attention. Their eyes were all trained on the gems around them, none in the room were watching the large window as a shadow started hurling towards it. The glass directly beside them cracked and shattered, flying at them in slow motion as a villain burst through the wall ten feet to their right. Flinching, the pale girl brought her arms to cover her face.

The glass slid past Sakura's skin, but didn't cut through like she watched it do with the other children. She noticed the blood beading on their cheeks and spun on her foot to shield them more with her own body, now facing the destroyed wall completely, with her eyes shut tight.

As soon as she heard the debri settle, she peeled open one bright eye. The dust had begun to settle down, a large, bald, muscular man standing in the center of it all. His muscles seemed pulled taught against his skin, with veins standing out against them, looking like they were pulsing with energy. His eyes bulged out of his face like one of those squish toys she had gotten from a toy vendor one year, the ones who's eyes pop out comically when you applied pressure. They were red and irritated. His bulging retinas scanned the destroyed room, observing the stones scattered on the ground and the ones that were left untouched on the displays around him. He scanned the room again, this time surveying the witnesses. A shiver ran down the girls spine as they locked eyes for a brief moment.

Another person swooped in, and the room collectively held its breath as they hoped it was a hero. But luck wasn't on their side. His hands were gigantic, with the skin in the center of his palms creating a swirl pattern as he generated a breeze. The stones and gems were being sucked towards him. His long brown hair whipped around him and his friend, longer than she had ever seen on a person before. Their matching baggy clothes gave away their allegiance, if their theft hadn't already done that.

"Hurry up Toro, we don't have all day. The heros won't be distracted for long, and there's more people here than we expected" The large one rumbled, his eyes landing on the orphans not more than ten feet away.

Sakura realized she was still standing, guarding the kids cowering behind her. Even the museum guide was too scared to defend them against his muscley might. She looked like she was literally melting into a puddle. The way he was looking straight at her with those bulging eyes made her freeze with fear. It took barely three strides and he was in front of them.

Sakura's knees were shaking under her body weight. She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn't move. Her eyes felt like they were bulging as much as his were as she looked into his face. Watching his veins pulse this close made her feel queasy. He leaned in close, his bald head reflecting light into her eyes, but she was too scared to even flinch. His breath and sweat smelled disgusting up close, exactly how she would imagine a villain would smell.

He bent down to Sakuras' level and got into her face, just as more glass shattered from the displays behind her and more gems were being sucked through the air and across the ground. The sound scared her out of her funk, and she fell back on her butt, ignoring the glass that pressed into her bare legs under the pretty dress she saved for special occasions. She distractedly hoped that her dress wouldn't get ruined, a passing thought that fled her mind as soon as it entered. She scooted back into the kids behind her, but they were just as frozen as she had been moments before. She couldn't back away any more.

"Hey Toro, these kids are pretty cute. Think we could use them to get away faster? Y'know, as hostages or whatever," the big man started, with a shrug of his gigantic shoulders. His skinnier partner rolled his eyes as he continued shoving the collected jewels into a giant bag. "I don't _care _Toshiro. Just grab one and let's get the fuck out of here."

Toshiros' disgusting bulb eyes roamed over her and the twins next to her. His smile grew wicked as he started reaching for one of the boys. "There's two of these guys, they wouldn't miss one, would they?"

The world slowed, and her heart felt like it was going to explode as she watched the hand reach past her. Her chest felt like ice and fire all at once, creeping up her throat and threatening to make her faint. He smelled sharp, he was now close enough to notice the stench, and his chest was only getting closer and closer to her face. She could see the sweat running down his muscles as her eyes followed his arm (which was about to clasp around a certain brown haired child), up to his shoulder and onto his bulging pecs underneath the sagging shirt.

It felt like it took forever, though realistically it was probably only about four seconds. She raised her own arm, parallel to his own, and on instinct a white jagged spear tore through the skin of her palm and into the heart of the villain in front of her just as his fist wrapped around the childs upper arm. Blood flowed down the spear immediately, and his huge body started to fall at her fast as time seemed to speed back up. He was too heavy for her super small stature to hold, and he was sliding down her spear at the same time. There was a puff of smoke and he transformed into what Sakura guessed was his original form. The sudden change in weight caused them both to fall the to side, her spear still extended. Her palm was pulsing in pain unlike anything she had ever experienced, skin ripped, her own blood mixing with that of the man she just impaled.

His partner was looking at the scene in shock, too distracted to notice when the heros arrived not seconds later. They easily took him down and assessed the scene before them, taking charge of the situation and evacuating everybody but her, the body, and one of the orphanage caretakers. The entire time, her yellow eyes couldn't leave the bald man before her. Her nose couldn't stop smelling the blood mixed with his sweaty stench. She couldn't stop staring at the freaking _bone _coming out of her arm. Her skin felt crusty and itchy from the blood after a few minutes, but she still couldn't move. People were walking and talking around her, but she paid them no mind. She had more important things to worry about.

Before long a paramedic approached her slowly. She made sure her footsteps were really loud. Sakura startled. She started crying when she realized other people saw what she did to that man. They were gonna think she was the villain. They were gonna arrest her. She _killed_ a man. She was going to _jail._

"Hi sweetie, my name is Hana. Can you look at me? What's your name?" She had a soft voice, and Sakura let herself steal a glance at the woman. She had soft brown eyes and millions of freckles on her round face. She wasn't even looking at the body in front of them. She didn't even look angry, and she didn't even have handcuffs. Maybe Sakura wasn't in trouble?

"M-Ma-i... Sa-Sakura" she cried out, trying to talk through her hiccups. Her hand really hurt.

"Sakura is a really pretty name. Sakura-Chan, I'm going to try and help you control your quirk. That's what I'm here for. Can you feel your hand?"

She lowered her head, only now noticing the blood that splattered onto her after the initial attack turned most of her white hair pink. She shut her eyes again, grimacing at the soreness her elbow was beginning to experience from being locked in place. "It hurts Hana-neechan, it really hurts!" Tears fell to the ground and she started sobbing harder. She heard shuffling as more people moved around behind her, unaware of how stable the young child was. Her hand was pulsing with pain, and she didn't know how to fix it. She heard Hana taking steps to close the distance between them, getting an arms reach away, before observing the young girls tense body.

"Sakura-chan, can I touch you? I need you to relax. Sakura-chan, can you try to relax?" Hana's voice got softer as she got closer, the pale girl nodded and tried her best to listen. It was hard, but Hana started rubbing her back and soon they were trying to match each other's breathing. As soon as Sakuras' eyes relaxed and closed, which felt like the first time in forever, the spear retracted with a squelch. She was glad her eyes were closed, so she didn't have to see that part.

The disgustingly wet sound sent the small child into another panicked frenzy, and Hana quickly whisked her to an ambulance they had ready outside. There she was stripped from her bloody attire and given baggy clothes to wear, but the clean clothes didn't help her blood soaked hair. They gave her a blanket, and let the caretaker into the car to hold her as they drove to the hospital. Sakura could tell how uncomfortable her caretaker was, so she didn't make her do much more than hold her uninjured hand. She tried her best to quit crying, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw the bald mans bulging eyes and blood running down a bone white spike.

They all saw everything. They all thought she was a monster or a villain now. She could still feel the tremble in the fingers tangled in hers, even if her guardian did the most she could not to show her fear.

Such a small girl killing such a strong and terrifying man? Sakura would be afraid too. Maybe she already is.

They arrived at the hospital and she was taken in for quirk assessments with Hana-neechan. She saw a man in a suit speaking with her guardian before they even entered the building, and she already knew they were going to transfer her to a new orphanage.

A few weeks later, after rounds and rounds of testing and experiments and a general description of her quirk, Sakura was stuck into a foster home instead. After seeing how dangerous her quirk had the possibility of being, they knew she couldn't be left in an orphanage. She needed one-on-one time, attention, and care to develop control.

That's how she got lucky. Stuck with a loving, annoying family, she couldn't have asked for anything better. They already knew and accepted her past, and were dedicated to helping her heal and become a better person. She was lucky they supported her dream of becoming a hero.

That's also how she became neighbors with Bakugo Katsuki, and believe her, there's more drama there than one would originally think. But it was all worth the blooming friendship.

The first day the two kids 'met' was a rather boring one for Sakura. The five year old was carrying her boxes and bags in from her new foster dads car, trying to carry as much as possible so her new "parents" wouldn't have to. She didn't want them thinking she was weak or couldn't do things by herself. She had taken care of most of her own needs as soon as she could, she definitely didn't need to be babied.

She was taking her last box in when she noticed the boy watching her from the yard across the street. Yellow eyes peered back at him from over her box. His red orbs stared back. He had ash blonde hair, it was a lighter color than what she normally saw on people, and it almost reminded her of her own snowy hair. His eyes weren't a normal color either. Maybe he got picked on too? Maybe they could be friends?

The tought of a possible new friend made her blush. She got shy, and broke eye contact first to carry the box in and run back out to slam the trunk closed.

"Mr. Soto I got everything now! Can you help me hang my hero posters up?" Katsuki could hear her call as she ran back into the house. He sat in his yard, playing hero by himself. He would have invited her but she looked busy! Since they were neighbors now apparently, they'd probably meet sometime, he would invite her to play then. Her hair was really cool. And she liked heros! He instantly wondered what her quirk was, and how strong it might be. "Not stronger than mine, no ones' is stronger than mine," he smirked to himself.

"What's that sweetie?" He heard his mom call from the porch. He went back to playing, already over the small distraction. "Nothing mommy! Careful, there's a villain behind you! Blast blast!" He cackled as he blasted away imaginary villians with the sparks from his palms. He couldn't feel the yellow eyes trained on him from the window across the street, but a young girl watched as the boy played with his quirk in confidence.

She looked at her palms, one with a circle of red warped scar tissue, and one smooth and soft. She'll be confident like that with her quirk one day. She hopes, anyways.

The first time they _actually _met was a week later, on Sakura's first day at her new school. His mom was walking him to the school bus right behind her and her foster parents. They glanced at each other when they boarded the bus, but Sakura was too shy to say anything. He didn't seem to take offense, just ignoring her and going to sit with his friends.

The rest of the day was spent introducing herself to her classmates and learning about her new school. The blonde boy she had seen wasn't in her class, but she did see him at recess.

Everyone seemed friendly but not particularly welcoming, if that made any sense. Everyone was nice, but not open to having a new friend. Everyone had their groups and she was an outsider. She wouldn't force her presence on anyone, so the pale girl sat alone.

The ride home was uneventful, but when the bus dropped the two neighbors off, they saw their parents talking together. Sakura waited for the boy to start walking first before following behind him. As soon as she reached them she hid behind her foster fathers leg, just as he finished talking to the boys mother.

"By the way Mrs. Bakugo, this is Mai Sakura. We'll be fostering her for a while, we hoped she could get along with little Katsuki!" The introduction from her foster father Kent Sotos' booming voice caught her off guard, and her face started feeling hot. She peered at the boy apparently named Katsuki. He was standing next to his dad, looking like he was annoyed at being called 'little'. She directed her gaze to the side and gave his family a small wave before hiding again. Mr. Sotos' booming laugh made her jump again, but she paid him no mind. Sakura drowned out the rest of their conversation and waited until they could go home. Eventually they all started walking down the street together, leaving the kids to walk next to each other as the adults talked. She gave Katsuki a few side glances, but didn't make conversation. And neither did he. She had seen him at recess being loud and rambunctious, but he didn't seem that way right now. To be honest, he was a little scary looking.

He didn't seem very interested in being her friend with that mean look on his face, so she decided she would leave him alone. When she was about to cross the street to her own sidewalk, she blushed crimson as she realize she didn't know how to say goodbye. She settled with a wave, a short bow, and a squeaky "Bye!"

The adults seemed to laugh at her shyness, and she didn't like it. Running into the house, she quickly closed herself up in her room and spent the rest of the evening until dinner practicing her quirk. Maybe, one day, she could play hero with Katsuki, and use her quirk without hurting someone... or herself.

Maybe then she wouldn't be so shy and scared to talk to people.

Her older self wishes she could just go back and tell the pale kid not to worry, maybe say it's okay to be shy. But if she had just accepted her quiet nature, Sakura doesn't think she'd be as strong as she is today. Strong enough to be at the UA entrance exams, on track to becoming a real hero.

But here she was. And she was going to do her best. She would be a hero, and make up for her past, to make sure everyone knew she WASN'T a villain. She wasn't just some murderer. She was a _hero_.


	2. A Bone To Pick

Ten year-old Mai Sakura was weak in a lot of ways. She couldn't control her quirk, she didn't get the best grades in school. She sucked applying herself. Hell, she could barely do a push-up. Mai Sakura was weak, mentally and physically, but she was also determined.

Kent Soto was the first person she told her dream to. Her new foster father was a hulk of a man, who's quirk was simply super strength. He owned a small construction business dedicated to repairing buildings destroyed by heros or villians. Mr. Soto was always smiling, always giving Sakura advice or attention she didn't ask for. He had been the first person to encourage her dream as a hero, but also warn her of how dangerous it was.

"Little Sakura," he often told her. "Being a hero is not just saving people. It's putting your_self_ at risk so others don't have to. If you're going to be a hero, you need to be _strong, _like me! And smart, like your mom." With a wink and a flex of his muscles, he would make the young girl giggle. His beautiful wife, Aiko Soto, would smile and laugh at them, enjoying the cute scenes they often made together.

Mrs. Soto was skeptical at first, when Kent brought up adoption. They had just gotten back from the firtility clinic, after finding out that due to her quirk, she couldn't safely conceive a child. Aiko was devastated when she learned of all the possible pregnancies she could have terminated. She always wanted to be a mother, ever since she had met Kent. She always imagined babies with Kent's red hair, and her green eyes.

Aikos' quirk made her transparent, by turning her body into small molecules unseen by the human eye. For any developing child in her womb, it would be fatal if she accidentally activated her quirk. It happened quite often when she was startled or upset. She could probably train to the point of where she could control it, but she was already an adult, with a full time job. Those who didn't go to hero schools don't get quirk training, so she wouldn't even know where to start. She decided that if she ever killed their child, even on accident, she would never forgive herself, and Kent respected that. But damn if he didn't want babies.

It took two weeks for him to convince her to at least foster a child. But she was glad he did. Sakura is such a sweet girl, and even though she doesn't physically resemble Aiko or Kent, she definitely held their shared dedicated spirit. Her past wasn't pretty, but it didn't seem to bother the pale girl at all anymore. The hospital made sure to give her proper counseling after the incident, and she continually saw a therapist. She probably always would.

Aiko wasn't too keen on Sakura's dream, mostly because... she knew Sakura could do it. She had a powerful and dangerous quirk. If it had been any other child, with any other quirk, Aiko would just smile and nod in encouragement, not actually believing them. But Sakura had her and Kent's dedicated spirits.

She didn't want that life for Sakura. It was dangerous. She was a beautiful little girl, she deserved a peaceful life. Aikos' brother had been a hero, and look where he ended up.

Actually, they don't know where he ended up, because he's still missing.

At least Aiko realized it wasn't her choice in the long run, and resigned herself to helping Sakura in her studies where she could. She couldn't stop her brother, and she knows she can't stop Sakura.

So when Sakura came home excited about high school entrance exams, Aiko made sure to keep her anxieties to herself. Sakura could tell it was bothering her mother, and she knew it was because she had an uncle she never got to meet. But the older woman just didn't understand. She never would.

She always knew her parents were hesitant about her goal, but she understood how dangerous it was. They made _sure_ she understood. That's why she practiced with her quirk every day when she got home from school, and why she studied every night after dinner, all the way until bedtime. If she was gonna do this, she was going to make sure they didn't worry. And she was gonna do it _right_. Even if she had to work harder than everyone else, she would make it.

She loved and respected her foster parents, they had done so much for her, taught her so much about the world she never would have learned if they had just stuck her into another orphanage. They protected her against what was undeniably an ugly fate, as orphans were often the rejects of society. But she couldn't help but to be selfish in her goals. She had to do this for herself, she had to dedicate her life to saving people to atone for the soul she stole.

Even though she wasn't officially adopted, and didn't carry the Soto name, she knew she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. So in the mean time, she would work as hard as she could, there's no time for anything else.

Sakura was a perfectionist and won't take anything less than 100% effort. She was a loner, who got picked on for her one-track dedication and odd looks. She payed no attention to the teasing jests and mocking laughter aimed her way. She kept her eyes on the prize.

Bakugo Katsuki was a little different. He never made fun of her. Well, he kind of just ignored her, but he wasn't mean either so Sakura thought he couldn't be that bad. He was as driven as she was, maybe even more. His natural skill made her jealous. His goal was the same as hers, and the competition they held was rather friendly compared to what she has observed of his other relationships.

Then again, they weren't very close. Just neighbors that sometimes walked to school together. She didn't know much about him, other than he was always polite (but with a scowl on his face). She had gotten used to the scowl when she realized it was really just him being him, and once you get passed that, he's not so bad. Just a tiny bit scary.

To Sakura, it felt like they grew up only 80 feet from each other but still lived worlds apart. He was probably only so civil because of his moms nagging, no one would want their kid to give their neighbors a bad impression. She still watched sometimes, when he practiced his quirk in their yards. It motivated her to keep getting better.

Once middle school started, she finally had a feel of her quirk, and could use it without injuring herself.

Her white body was peppered with various colored and sized scars by the time she figured it all out, the most prominent being on the palms of her hands and pads of her fingers. The scars would have made any normal girl self conscious, but the yellow eyes girl figured they were just a testament to her growth. They would fade and turn silver in time. In the end, the trick was much more simple than she thought.

She could manipulate her skin as well. It took her entirely too long to notice. The almost chalk white color of her skin and hair was due to an absurd amount of calcium and collagen and lack of blood. Her quirk assessment had told her that, but she hadn't assumed that automatically allowed her to manipulate them. That's why her eyes were a golden yellow, too. Her blood vessels and nerves resided just under her skin, and nowhere else, so she didn't have nearly as much blood as a normal person. Subsequently, her core temperature is quite low.

Honestly, Sakura barely felt human anymore. Nevertheless she still trained and learned more about her quirk at a steady pace, determined to improve.

She had spent years making bone armour _underneath _her skin but had never managed to project anything without making herself bleed. Her frustration was actually what made her realize her error. She had gotten tired of just making her bones hollow and dense. Making bone plates underneath her forearms wouldn't really protect against much when her skin could still be slashed, and she would bleed out much faster than a normal person. She couldn't just damage herself whenever she wanted to use her quirk offensively. She wanted actual progress.

She steeled herself from the pain as she pushed the bones of her phalange through her finger pads for the thousandth time. Her idea was to get used to the pain, so eventually she could do it without flinching, and toughen her skin enough to the point of where it wouldn't even bleed anymore. It was a slow process, and probably impossible without losing all feeling in her fingertips.

Looking at the red blood running down her forearms, she frowned. It was painful to move her fingers in that position. Maybe, if she just adjusted what angle the bone was at...

As she tested her theory, she accidentally flexed a "muscle" in her hand she didn't even realize she had. It felt like when she tried to wiggle her ears, like Kent showed her. But she still couldn't do that.

The broken skin on her pointer finger contracted for the smallest second when she found it again. Her sunflower eyes went wide. Was that it?!

She tried finding that "switch" again, it took her a few (hundred) tries, but she eventually got it. The skin looked like it became more of a semi-solid as it slid up her wrist like a backwards glove. She could see her pale colored muscles and veins and _bones_.

She willed her armor onto her hand, able to watch this time as a plate of white grew from her finger bones. She played like that for a while, moving her skin back around the chalky white surface, trying not to expose her more delicate reddish insides. Muscles were unnerving to look at, particularly when her bones made them move or when she flexed her hand.

Her practice ended hours later, when yellow eyes settled on the chain of bones fitted to her knuckles, a cheap imitation of the knuckle dusters she had seen on an anime show last week. No more blood or pain. Perfect. A wonderful end to her training. She yawned as she surveyed the grass at her feet.

Sakura's backyard wasn't very large but it wasn't small either. Enough space for her to work out. She wished it was bigger as she finally laid down, her back relaxing against nature's lush carpet. The yard at the orphange was gigantic, but always full of weeds and dirt instead of actual grass. She pretended she was back there, just for a moment, kids running around her, tugging her hair and asking to play.

She didn't miss it, but it wasn't an unpleasant memory. She did miss having so many "siblings".

Sakura decided that was enough of a break. Standing up, she retied her long snowy hair and tightened her tennis shoe laces before going to the wooden gate of her fence. A run would be fabulous right now, just around the block once or twice to wind down and get all her jitters out before she went to bed. Otherwise she would be up all night thinking about her quirk and all the new possibilities.

She hesitated just a moment on her sidewalk, trying to think of ways to maximize her efforts. If she could make her bones more dense, wouldn't it be harder to run? Wouldn't it make her legs stronger? It was something to test.

She upped her bone density and started on her usual trail, already floored at how much effort it was taking. She was a middle schooler, a weak one at that. There was only three years to train her body for the UA entrance exams, if she wanted to get into the best of the best, she would have to start training her body and quirk harder than she already has been. This already seemed like a great way to start.

It was on her second lap around the neighborhood she collapsed in front of her house, on the small strip of lawn that was carefully maintained. Mrs. Soto would be pissed if she saw her on the nice grass, but she was on a business trip, so Sakura relaxed as it tickled her sweaty legs. Normally she could do at least three laps, but the new trick killed her stamina.

"Hey. You good?" Sakura startled at the gruff voice from across the street. She hadn't even noticed Katsuki sitting on his front step, legs stretched out in front of him. She huffed as she sat up, trying to get enough air in her lungs before she spoke. "Yeah. Just training." Her yellow eyes scanned over his baggy black sweatpants and a band shirt, one she didn't recognize. She could feel his cherry eyes scanning her form too, black shorts and a matching hoodie. He raised his eyebrows, and that's when she realized his usual scowl wasn't as prominent as normal, just a small downturn of his lips rather than a frown or glower.

The street lights flicked on down the street as he assessed her, giving them more light than just the gentle moon glow.

"In a hoodie? You're nuts, it's so hot. What are you training for?" He lolled his head back in a lazy fashion, still keeping those intimidating red orbs trained on her. She clammed up at his gaze, and he rolled his eyes before shifting his weight to get more comfortable on the concrete step. "Just curious man, you don't need to be so... freakin' shy. It's annoying."

Her golden eyes snapped to his again before floating off to the side, "Sorry. I'm just... not good at talking."

What a lame excuse, she thought to herself. Not good at talking? She was talking right now just fine. Sakura could feel her face start to get warm. She cursed at herself for blushing so easily. He looked like he was still waiting for her to answer him.

"I'm training.. to become a hero one day. That's my goal." She met his eyes head on that time, not flinching away. The blush was still hot on her cheeks, threatening to deepen, but she held it back. Her posture wasn't confident, but her steady voice and determined eyes let Katsuki know exactly how serious the statement was. His scowl came back, but this time it was more of a predatory grin. He straightened more in his seat before speaking, bringing his knees up and placing his hands on them.

"Oh really? Me too, short stuff. I'm gonna be number one, so don't get in my way. Who knows, maybe you'll be my sidekick one day!" He let out a cackle, his smile not reaching his eyes as they narrowed at her in contemplation. He stood up, dusting a few stray pebbles off his ass before turning around to head inside. "Night Sakura-chan," he called over his shoulder.

"N-night Katsuki-kun," she called back, watching him close the door with a click. She was surprised he remembered her name. She heard a woman's yelling start up a few moments later.

Sakura giggled as she made her way back into the house, hollowing her bones out so that she could carry her sore body without more effort than she needed. Katsuki and his mom were always arguing over something or other.

That was the first time they had a full conversation, other than casual greetings. She felt embarrassed for not saying very much. Odd, seeing as they had known each other for years. The interaction left a fuzzy feeling in her gut. Maybe she could be friends with him after all?

She soon realized that was probably not going to be the case. It was a month later Katsuki decided to crash her nightly "training", leaning on the wooden fence of her backyard as he watched her throw wild punches and kicks at some imaginary villian. She looked stiff and awkward. She was in the same training gear as the last time she saw him, although her shorts were a little longer this time. Her breathing was uncontrolled, she was covered in sweat, and looked about ready to drop, but her shining eyes told him she wasn't anywhere near finished.

"You're gonna break your ankle if you don't turn more on that kick," he started. Sakura startled. She didn't see him there, but he had obviously been watching her.

"I don't think I have to worry about breaking any bones," she tried explaining. The thought of a broken bone was laughable to her, she could simply throw out the broken one and grow another. Or fuse the break right back together. The glare he sent her was scathing. Sakura quickly tried to backtrack and explain, growing flustered at the rude look he was leveling at her. "That's my quirk, actually, I can manipulate my skeletal structure in a variety of ways. It's called Osteal," He still didn't seem very impressed.

"So, I really don't have to worry about breaking any bones!" She finished, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. It didn't seem to satisfy him though.

"Even if you can't break a bone, you won't get the full power out of that move unless you perform it correctly. Let me show you hows it's done," he gave a cocky grin, replacing the disappointed stare, as he unlatched the gate and moved across from her. He slowly went through the move, showing her how to move her feet and arms for balance, step by step. Sakura watched intently, immediately noticing how their stances differed. He finished the demonstration and was watching her, waiting for confirmation that she understood.

She looked up at him, a thoughtful look on her face, one Katsuki hadn't seen on her before. She was normally blushing or looking anywhere but him, but right now, it looked like she was really _seeing_ him.

"Spar with me?" She blurted. Katsukis face went slack, and he stared at her oddly. Sakura's face started turning blossom pink as she realized how forward she was being. "S-sorry, you just seem like you know what you're doing. And I want to learn."

He stared at her a moment longer before his feral grin slipped right back. He lowered his stance and made a fist with his left hand, and practically growled out his response, "You think you can beat _me?_ Let's go!"

He didn't give her any chance to prepare as he launched himself at her. She was focused on blocking his hit with her forearms, trying to keep up with the assault. She didn't even see his other arm come out from under, taking her by surprise. He feinted her? It was immediately obvious to her he had been in many fights, and it was obvious to him she had not been in a single one. It didn't take more than a few seconds for him to send her on her ass, almost knocking the wind out of her.

"You kinda suck, chick. I was honestly expecting more of a fight. You sure you wanna be a hero?" He gave her a scathing look. His words burned her. It shocked her to lose so miserably around someone her own age. She looked up at him from under her snowy bangs, watching him walk away. "You're too weak, get someone to train you before asking to fight _me _again. I'm gonna be number one, I can't waste time playing hero with some little girl."

She gripped her scarred white fist, watching him walk away, eyes following him all the way to his porch, until he disappeared behind a brown screen door. He left the back gate open, so she closed it with a clack. Her sunflower colored eyes practically glowed with a new determination, a new goal to achieve.

She wanted to land Katsuki on his ass one day, and see the look on his face when she told him _she _was going to be number one. The bones in her hand were prominent, pressing against her skin, almost like they were begging her to be utilized. She turned on her heel and ran back to the house.

"Mr. Soto!! Mrs. Soto!! Can I ask for a favor?!" She called, already putting on her puppy dog look. She would need it to convince her foster mom to let her take any sort of fighting class.

And that's how she ended up a pupil in jujustu, the youngest of four pupils at her local dojo. She became an expert in pins and throws, she was able to perform joint locks on others and because of the nature of her quirk she was basically immune to joint locks herself. She was better at grappling than the other three pupils, although they all shined in their own ways. The camaraderie between the four was intrumental in their growth. They helped each other and grew into a family.

Katsuki never knew it, because she never told him, but Sakura has him to thank for most of her progress, and for meeting her second family. She never would have been as motivated to learn to fight, if he hadn't bruised her tailbone that fateful day.

Years later, it was the day before her extrance exams, and Sakura was at the dojo finishing up her workout. She was lost in her memories, losing track of the amount of punches or kicks she had thrown. The other three pupils had already gone home, Chirako and Izuna both having errands to run with Keisuke tagging along, eager as always to cut his workout short. Their sensei, Akihiko Akinori, was observing her, making sure she finished strong.

She hadn't challeneged Katsuki since that day, no matter how much she wanted to beat him. They had gone back to their quiet ignorance of each other's presence, Sakura out of spite and Katsuki from pure apathy. She was sure he had forgotten all about her by now. Other than their walks to and from school, they had no real interactions with each other. That would change soon. She knew he was going to be at the UA entrance exams, it was hard not to know when his mother was constantly screaming at him to "get his shit together or UA wouldn't even think about accepting him." She was rather loud, to be heard from clear across the street.

She would probably see him there. And there would probably be a physical portion to their test. That's where she will shine, and show him she wasn't some weak little girl. Then was when she would finally challenge him again, to see how far she had come. The pale girl would be so lucky if the test was some sort of tournament, she knew she would have a high chance of facing him.

"Mai, you can stop for today. Your exams are tomorrow, you can't push yourself too hard," her sensei admonished her. She threw him a sunflower gaze, pleading with a form of puppy dog eyes she saved especially for sensei. He stared back apathetically with his own yellowed eyes, and she sighed before beginning her wind-down stretches.

When Akihiko said stop, he meant stop. Sometimes she could push it, but that look told her everything she needed to know.

She was too distracted anyways, her stomach was exploding with butterflies and her muscles felt tingly with excitement. She hoped she was going to make it. Her sensei thought she could do it. Her foster parents believed in her. Even a couple of her classmates had approached her and given her their best wishes, which was shocking since she didn't really get along with anyone. If they all believed she could achieve her goals, then she wouldn't let them down. She sat on her knees and wiped the work-out mat clean from her sweat, stealing an occasional glance at her teacher. He was still watching her, probably already knowing she wanted to speak with him. When she was done, she spun so she was on her knees in seiza, facing him politely.

"Akihiko-sensei... if I don't make it-" his giggle interrupted her sentence. She shot him a glare. Old-man antics were not welcomed in such serious moments. His white hair was pulled into a bun, and she focused on that instead of his giggling face, trying to finish her sentence. "Sensei, if I don't make it into UA-" another childish giggle cut her off. She closed her mouth with a click and looked into his own yellow eyes, a more pastel color than her own. When he pulled stuff like this, it was better to just go with his flow.

"Mai-chan, if you are already doubting yourself, you might as well not attend the tests," he giggled into his hand once more, the sound starting to grate on her already frazzled nerves. His words annoyed her too.

"Sensei, I'm not that strong. I still can't beat Keisuke in a spar. I'll try my best, but there's not a garauntee that I'll get a spot. I just wanted you to know, if I don't make it into UA, you're gonna have a handful. I'm going to come and train every single day, and stay as long as you let me." I met his eyes with determined apricot orbs, waiting for his response. He laughed genuinely this time, the surprisingly loud sound coming from such a small man was hard to get used to. After years of exposure, one builds immunity.

"Oh Mai, you always surprise me! I thought you were gonna give up or something. I should have known better," he chuckled, a shaking hand landing on his equally shaky knee. He winked and smiled at the nervous young girl before him. "You're strong, even if you don't see it. Keisuke has three years experience on you, and he's hard-pressed to keep up with your growth. If there's any kids left in that test by the time you're through with them, they're lucky."

Sakura sighed as she accepted his words of encouragement for what they were. It didn't really make her feel better though. She gathered her bags and bowed, thanking him for his time and advice, before making her way to the subway. She thought up strategies the whole way home, trying to guess at what the tests might be and how she would react to certain scenarios. By the time she got through the front door and into the shower, her brain was fried from all the thinking and her muscles were still pulling tight from her workout. She stretched one more time before sitting at her desk for another study session, hoping she would still retain all the information by morning. Soon her eyes were drooping and she started to snore whilst still awake. The pale girl shook herself and stood up from her desk, flicking her study lamp off.

Finally feeling tired enough to sleep, she crashed on top of her bed a few feet away, not bothering to pull her sheets up over her. They'd end up on the floor anyways. All that hard work has Sakura tired.

In fact, now that she thinks about it, all she _knows_ is hard work. She doesn't have much of a personality, she doesn't really have any interesting hobbies or skills. All she really has is notibly dark circles under her sunken eyes, from her years of late night studying and early morning runs. Hopefully, it would all be worth it.

Sakura relaxed, falling into a dreamless sleep. She would get back to her hard work in the morning, but for now, she just wanted to rest. If she passed the test, and got into UA, she would try and make friends. Maybe try out a few more hobbies. But her future came first.


	3. Funny Bone

_One Year Prior_

Sakura was a shy girl, very shy indeed. She doesn't have any friends really, just the same boring girl from her World Languages class she ate lunch with every day and the guy she occasionally let cheat off her paper during math tests because he was sorta cute.

Katsuki wasn't shy at all, not in the slightest. In their free periods she always saw him outside with his gang of friends, picking on one student or another. She was glad he left her alone... _mostly. _

Sakura doesn't know how he expects to be a hero when he acts like such a villian. Over the years he just got more and more malicious, turning from an overconfident child into an arrogant young man.

One hot summer Saturday found the pale girl walking by a park, watermelon popsicle in her right hand, and a bag of groceries in her left. Screaming could be heard from a block away, and Sakura already recognized the source, seeing as she lived right next to the terror and his equally argumentative mother. There was already a guess as to what he was up to.

Sakura followed his echoing growl, why exactly she doesn't know. She turned a corner on the other side of the playground, finding him and a group of boys. Most of them were his usual gang, all wearing baggy jeans and various band-Ts. One of the boys she didn't recognize, a boy wearing an epic All Might merchandise T-shirt with dark green hair. He was stammering, obviously scared of the red-faced Katsuki Bakugo. Sakura felt some sweat roll down her temple. '_He sounds exactly like his mother when he's like this._'

Before Sakura could even make the choice of A) stepping in or B) continuing on her way (and let's be honest, she wants to be a hero. What kind of hero would abandon someone in need?), the smaller boys apple green eyes met her sunflower yellow. Katsuki immediately followed his gaze, eyes landing on Sakuras' shorter form as he threw his head over his shoulder, trying way too hard to look cool. She held her popsicle still in her mouth and her grocery bag a tad tighter as she stared back, not shying away from his aggressive body language. She didn't know how he would react to her, but she had a feeling she was pretty safe at the moment. There was no real malice in his gaze.

His grin turned more feral as he floated his cherry eyes up and down her form. Her white tank top and black shorts made her pale skin stand out, and her naturally blushed cheeks started to feel hot at his stare. She was sweaty from her run to the store and just wanted to get the groceries home so she could cook dinner and go to bed. She has to get up early tomorrow to meet Chirako at the dojo for some extra training. But it looks like she would be delayed.

"Look Deku, someone to save you! What is it, Snow White? You gonna try and _play hero?_" His voice was gravelly and angry, he was obviously referring to their conversation from years ago. It was surprising he actually remembered. The comment made her mad. She narrowed her eyes, mustering up all the dislike she could into one gaze. It felt about as fake as his expression looked, but it must have worked well enough, since the boys next to him shifted uncomfortably.

Now, Mai Sakura was shy. But if there's one thing she wasn't, it was submissive. She would not let anybody insult or walk over her, not anymore, she hasn't since she started training at the dojo under Akihiko and she wasn't about to start now. He had been a mostly polite neighbor, and up until that point, she had no reason to show him her bite. But here he was, picking on a classmate. Calling her a rude name. Trying to look all tough and scary. All while claiming to be a future hero?

"If I'm playing hero, does that mean you're playing villian, Katsuki?" She asked simply. He turned fully to face her, instead of just looking over his shoulder. He seemed pissed at her laid back tone, as he's used to her just blushing and stammering out of his way like Deku was doing right now. The green boy behind him seemed panicked at the unexpected intrusion.

Sakura felt the popsicle start to melt and drip down her hand, but she ignored it to stare back into Katsukis' cherry red eyes. She thought his expression couldn't get angrier, but his brows scrunched forward and his scowl turned into a full grimace at her words. She turned her tennis shoes slightly, ready to run if she needed to.

"Oi! What the fuck do you know, half-pint?! You don't know anything **about** being a hero. I'm gonna be NUMBER ONE, so get _outta _here before I drag you home in a body bag!" he was practically screaming, huffing and glaring at her. He could boil an egg with that glare.

Despite his directions, he was the one who turned around and stalked off, body checking the green haired boy in the process. His lackeys followed after him, but of course, not until they each gave their own shove to the kid. The two kids watched them leave together, with Sakura waiting until he was out of sight to go help the boy gather his belongings, which she had just noticed were scattered on the ground.

"Sorry about him, what a dick," She commented, just to break the ice. She put her groceries down and tossed her melted popsicle in a close trash can. She lost her appetite.

Sakura helped him clean up with her non-red-and-sticky hand. Everything she handed to him was being placed in a messenger bag on his side. After blushing and stuttering for a few moments, he collected his thoughts, and finally responded to her small comment. "Kacchan is actually a good person," he started, not meeting her eye. It seemed like he wanted to say more, but he left it at that.

"Kacchan, huh? So familiar. You must know him pretty well then. Honestly I've been his neighbor forever, but I've never seen him act quite like that. Maybe he just hates you?" Sakura shrugged. The thought didn't seem to make the boy feel any better. Not that she was exactly trying. "Anyways, I gotta go. Get home safe, kay?"

Sakura sent him a beaming smile, her white teeth shining in his direction. He blushed and tried to get out a response, green apple eyes showed how much he was reeling from the intereaction, but she and her groceries were gone by the time he had recovered. She practically skipped the rest of the way home, confident she wouldn't run into Bakago and the rest of his lackeys. They went in the opposite direction.

She wondered what the green haired boys name was, but shrugged it off as she entered her front door and went to wash the sticky pink substance from her arm. She'd probably see him at school. She'd learn his name then.

———————————————————————

_Present Day_

The morning was a decidedly cold one, Sakura noticed her fogged window as soon as she woke up. Shaking her dreams from her mind, she stood up and started getting ready for The Big Day.

She wore her regular school uniform with black leggings for added warmth, shrugging on her dark blue overcoat as an afterthought. She grabbed a slice of toast on her way out of the door, afraid if she ate much more, she would get sick.

Both of her parents left for work before she had to get up, so she said goodbye to the empty house before making her way to the bus stop.

Eating breakfast on her walk, she hopped onto the bus when it arrived and tried not to overthink everything. Hopefully, they would just be regular tests and physical assessments. The bus quickly approached her stop and she squeezed her way out of the bus crowd and into the crowd of kids heading towards the UA campus. She was sucked along with the flow of traffic, apparently getting there a bit later than she expected. There was a _sea_ of people to elbow through. She tried to make it early, but apparently she should have taken the subway instead.

The written exam passed quickly, they had an hour to answer 150 questions, only 15-30 questions for each subject. Definitely not as bad as she was expecting, even if the questions were a bit more difficult than she studied for. After the time limit was up they escorted the new high schoolers to the biggest auditorium Sakura had ever seen, where they were assigned seats based on what middle school they came from.

Sakura ended up sitting with Katsuki to her right, and a familiar looking green-haired boy to her left. She had seen him around school once or twice, and faintly remembered him being one of the few quirkless in her grade. She gave him and Katsuki both a small wave and smile, to which Bakugo ignored. The green boy, in a much friendlier greeting, beamed back at her, his nerves obviously showing through his shaking smile. She sat quietly and waited for everything to start, trying to ignore the intimidating aura Katsuki was emitting.

Sooner than she expected, the room lit up and a giant screen came to life. The boys next to her immediately snapped to attention, and she followed their example, trying to look serious. She felt anything but, particularly when she realized who was giving their exam. The blonde man on stage, who announced himself as the schools announcer, Present Mic, was explaining the practical part. The popular hero was one Sakura never expected to see in person, and definitely never expected him to act so similar to how she saw him on TV. The middle schoolers were quickly handed small blue tickets, which specified their exam number and test location. The boy to her left was peeking at her and Katsukis' cards, and she copied him. Their numbers were right after the other, but they all had different test locations; Sakura wilted in her seat as she realized she wouldn't be in the same location as the hot head to her right. Who, had just noticed the two staring. He glared back at them, scoffing.

"Oi, get your eyes of my card." He glanced past her and spoke directly to the boy, peeking at his test location. "Damn. I was looking forward to crushing you, Midoriya."

At the bullying remark, Sakura suddenly remembered why the boy was so familiar, she felt so dumb considering she had just dreamt of him last night. She interrupted Katsukis' cherry gaze by leaning her head in front of the green boy named Midoriya, giving him at least one small mercy on such a stressful day. She matched his glare with her own, although she admits hers wasn't as withering. She had to say something. P

"Pay attention, Katsuki-kun. I don't wanna miss any directions." He glared at her harder, silently wondering why she was even there, but listened to her anyways as Present Mic continued his explanation.

"There are three different level villians in your exam location! One, two, and three point villians will be attacking the city. It's your job to score as many points as possible using your quirk! But, make sure you keep it civil. Attacking other examinees will be grounds for disqualification. A zero-point villian is also in the arena, but I suggest you leave it alone and focus on getting as many points as possible." Their blonde announcer elaborated, his voice booming.

Despite her little lecture to Bakugo, Sakura found her own attention slipping as she assessed all of the competition in the room. She was too nervous, especially after the announcement of a zero-point villian. That seemed like a catch, or a trick to deceive them.

Before long they were loaded into busses and shipped off to their exam locations, not far from the main campus. Her location was Battle Center D. They were all allowed to change into their workout clothes, Sakura sported a fitting black hoodie and matching shorts. She rolled her sleeves up as much as possible, the fabric bunching up a little above her elbows. Depending on how much of her ability she needed to use, she might just end up in her white athletic crop-top worn underneath. The more skin she had exposed, the more advantage she had.

She spent the rest of her time stretching and waiting for the doors to open. She closed her eyes and listened to the chatter around her, picking out a few who she could already tell had more bark than bite. When the start alarm finally sounded, she finally cracked her eyes open. Her bones were already as light as a birds as she flitted past most of the pack, not hesitating to jump on a few shoulders or heads to get ahead. A few were in front of her, and above, but she paid them no mind as she headed into the heart of the fake city, most of the large group branching off to fight stray machinery. Before long, giant robots with ones, twos, and threes painted on their green backs were facing her, lined up in a corridor of tall sky scrapers.

This was the first time she has ever actually used her quirk offensively in a real battle, Sakura realized. She had no idea how her bones would fair against fortified metal.

Sakura pushed down flashbacks of the first time her quirk had manifested. She didn't need that right now, she needed to focus. This is what she trained for so many years for. There was a three and a two pointer in the street before her, and she needed a plan. Fast. They didn't have much time to prove themselves, and from what she could assume, there weren't enough robots to go around for all the students. Guess she had to get rid of her hoodie already, these guys were way bigger than she expected.

She quickly removed the black clothing, just as the giant "villians" start rumbling towards her. Discarding her hoodie, she looked in front of her before moving a bit to the left, lining the green giants up. Sakura expanded and hardened her breast plate, pulled back her pale skin to reveal the glistening bone, and shot out one of the largest bone spikes she had ever managed before pulling it straight back to her body. She left the breast plate on her chest exposed, just in case she needed it again, as she surveyed the damage. It had gone through the two pointers head and straight into the body of the three pointer, effectively shutting both robots down. Five points in, how many could she collect? Knowing her bone was effective against the metal, she couldn't help but smirk. Maybe there was hope after all.

'Bone' knuckles melted from her phalanges, three inch long spikes on each digit. '_This should be enough,_' she thought as she started jogging to the next street over. A one pointer stood in her way, which she immediately engaged with her fist.

With lightened bones, she sprung herself from the street and landed on the machines' shoulders. It only took two punches with her bone reinforced hand before the machine crumpled, but it was still one hit too many. She needed to one-hit KO these guys and move on to collect as many points as possible.

Groaning machinery was heard rumbling from all around her, all she had to do was pick a direction and go. She climbed to the top of the nearest building, lengthening the bones in her fingertips and digging them into the wall to keep from falling. A girl with long black hair lept past her, hopping from building side to building side like a frog as she continued her own search for points. Sakura couldn't help but scoff at the ease of her mobility. "Show off..."

From her new vantage point, Sakura could see why the jumping girl was headed to her left. There seemed to be a large group of machinery in that direction, and she headed over there, taking a couple one-pointers out with a spike from her breast plate or with spiked punches along the way. She shot off towards all the noise, being as light and fast as possible.

She was lucky she wasn't against actual people. Destroying these machines was simple, giant spikes required less concentration than the rods or staffs she used in hand-to-hand combat, and she could reabsorb them to save energy.

It wasn't easy to concentrate on her bone density. If she hollowed her bones too much they would snap under the pressure of her muscles, and then she'd just be wasting precious time fixing herself. Even if her bones were a lot stronger than the average persons, and it didn't hurt her when they broke, they weren't invincible. And if the broken piece pierced her skin and made her bleed, well, that was something she _couldn't_ fix.

She quickly reached the conglomeration of machinery, not too long after the hopping girl started taking them out by knocking them into buildings or other nearby robots. As soon as she reached them, the skin melted away from her hands to reveal bone plating, with slivers of red muscle visible between the cracks where her joints lay. Her palms were covered in the same flat, dense bone, a wickedly sharp spike shooting at the nearest two pointer from her left palm. The white material gleamed under the light. She destroyed one robot after another, taking advantage of a couple times the jumping girl hesitated only to steal the points for herself.

Every once in a while she was forced to break a spear off and replace it with another as it became too stuck, which cost her some of her stamina, but saved her a lot of energy and time in the long run. Once the bone left her, she could no longer control or re-absorb it.

She could feel herself beginning to tire, but the first physical sign was when she stabbed one bone spike into the ground for extra mobility as a one-pointer came dashing for her. She lifted herself and twisted her body, sending a kick hard enough in its 'face' to send it off balance and crashing into the ground hard, destroying itself with its own momentum. She had continued in her body twist to face one of the last three-pointers she could see in the area, still balanced precariously on her left hands' spike. Another white spear extended confidently and quickly from her right palm only to snap against green metal upon contact. Sakura was surprised at the sudden vibration that tore through her body. Having a bone broken still wasn't very pleasant for her, when it was done so violently. She cried "Fuck!" just as the jumping girl took it out, probably as retribution for stealing some of her own points. Sakura realized she really didn't have enough energy to keep extending and retracting her skeleton like this.

"FIVE MINUTES LEFT!" She heard their examiner call. Sakura cursed herself for not paying attention to the other time calls, and for not keeping track of her score. She quickly left the area, seeing no more robots to attack, only scattered remains. Sakura started getting desperate. For the life of her she couldn't keep track of how many enemies she defeated or how many points they were. She climbed back up a building, wasting precious time trying to get a vantage point, attempting to see where all the robots had vanished. Had someone taken them all out? Were there none left? They still had five minutes, give or take. Where had they all gone?

Suddenly, it felt like the ground was opening up beneath her, and she was thrown to the side. Falling off a gigantic building was something she had not experienced before, and as she watched the cement rush towards her, she couldn't help but scream. She had no idea if she could survive this.

She couldn't think fast enough on what she should do. Increasing her density would only make her impact harder, possibly pulverizing her more delicate insides. Lightening her density would definitely shatter her skeleton. She didn't have enough time to completely shield herself, only enough time to extend her breastplate to the entirely of her torso to protect her organs from becoming splattered on the ground. This was gonna be one painful belly-flop.

Well, she thought it was going to be. At last second, a head of red hair blocked her vision and someone caught her a bit awkwardly. She could feel the breath leave her lungs as the large bone plate pressed into her organs. She didn't even have enough time to look up or say 'thank you', as what she assuming to be the zero-pointer stood over them menacingly, joints groaning so loud it shook the buildings that weren't fully destroyed. They were at ground-zero, it seemed. The boy next to her stood frozen, only for only a moment, before turning tail and leaving her behind, running like his life depended on it. And maybe it did.

But something else caught Sakura's sunflower eyes.

There was a boy in purple gym clothes, with light brown hair, who laid prone on the ground before her. He didn't even seem conscious. He was probably knocked out as the monster machine rose, the same as she had almost been, but someone hadn't been there to save him. And someone wasn't there to save him now, as the foot of the giant before them came crashing down. Except for her.

Sakura didn't even need to debate on if she was going to run, or protect. She was here to be a hero, wasn't she? Once again she didn't even have time to think, only hoped that in her weak state, her bones wouldn't simply be crushed into calcium sand. But she still had to _try_. She ran forward a few steps, lifted her shirt, and barely had time to move her pearly white skin out of the way as the front of her rib cage burst from her body. She could tell she wasn't fast enough to protect the delicate skin of her chest, warm blood was running down her sides and stomach. She had torn skin for the first time in ages. As she opened her eyes and looked before her, she almost couldn't believe it. It was the largest and most intricate bone structure she had ever managed to conjure. It was only a third of the giant green machines height, barely tall enough to clear the top of the buildings around them, but it was still bigger than she expected. The color was off, her bones were normally pearly white and glistening, not the dingy yellow shade that stained the rib cage in front of her.

Her four floating ribs were dug a few meters into the ground, keeping the structure mostly balanced as she gazed up, hoping it would be enough. If it wasn't, they were both done for. She dangled from where she was still attached, a few feet above the ground. It took everything in her power not to scream at the pain coming from her sides.

She watched as the green foot crashed into her makeshift shield, cracking the bone, sending vibrations into her core, but not completely breaking through like she expected. The resistance made the robot start to topple, where some other hero had picked up the rest of her work, by destroying the entire machine in its gigantic step. She didn't know how it happened, or who destroyed it, but she was just relieved it was gone. Knowing it had been defeated, she detached herself from the giant rib cage. Her muscles moved back to their original placements, feeling sore and stretched beyond their limits. She never got used to the ticklish feeling it gave her. The bones fused to her sides weakened and became brittle enough to snap under her weight after a moment of hard concentration. Sakura was spent.

She crumpled to her knees and started working on regrowing a new rib cage. Her chest felt like jelly at the moment. It was more taxing than she thought it would be. Reabsorbing the rib cage would have replenished her somewhat, but she didn't even know where to start with something that big. As soon as she was sure all of her organs were protected again, she fell asleep almost instantly. Someone was going to have to come get the other kid anyways, so she might as well save herself the trouble and energy of making her way back to the start.

Sakura just hoped she did well enough to pass, even if she sacrificed some of her time there at the end. Not that there were any robots left anyways.

She awoke in the nurses office with Recovery Girl tending to her wounds. She was switched onto autopilot, trying to comprehend the scenario she was thrusted into. Riding home on the bus that day, she wasn't so sure she passed. She had run out of stamina so fast, using her quirk hadn't ever tired her out like that, and she definitely never had a bone completely shatter like it did on that one three-pointer. She could almost still feel the vibrations humming through her skeleton. She wasn't confident in her performance, and she didn't think she made it.

Katsuki probably left long before her, as she was taken to be healed. Thankfully she only had minor red cuts after her healing session, on her sides, just under her breasts. As she walked down their street and neared her home, she could tell her neighbor was confident in how he did in the exam, seeing as how loud he and his mom were being. There was, of course, no way he didn't pass. It was a happy loud though, and boisterous, not the usual anger and annoyed bickering they lowered themselves to. They were honestly just too much alike. Sakura smiled a little to herself as she walked into her empty house and called out, "I'm home!"

Kent was probably still busy at work, there's been a lot of issues lately with some employees at his company. He was going on a business trip soon, he might also be preparing for that. Aiko was on a business trip herself, she took them rather often. So Sakura made herself a simple dinner of cooked salmon, salad, and drank almost a pint of milk with some supplements to recover some of her lost calcium before stretching and going straight to bed. Working out tonight would be counterproductive, with how sore her muscles already felt. Her bones even felt tired, somehow. Changing into shorts and one of Kents' old T-shirts, Sakura fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next night had her in her backyard training. It was a boring, uneventful day, and she had spent all of it reviewing her performance during the test in her minds' eye over and over. She still wasn't sure how well she did, especially since she had no one to compare experiences with. Well, Katsuki was just across the street, but she wasn't quite desperate enough for that. She knew the letters wouldn't be out for another week or so, but Sakura wishes they'd just send their declination and let her move on. The suspense was killing her.

Her training seemed much more fluid than it had started out as. Years at Akihikos' dojo paid off exponentially. Her parents even bought her a punching bag, with a stand and everything, so she could practice in the backyard whenever Akihiko-sensei had the dojo closed for cleaning or holidays.

Said dojo wasn't closed today, but Sakura didn't feel like getting teased by Keisuke and Izuna. She just wasn't in the mood for Chirakos' shitty attempts at comfort, either, Akihiko-sensei's, for that matter, that smart ass old man knew exactly what to say or do to throw her normally calm mind into a rage. She was so focused on her punching bag, she didn't notice someone watching her.

Katsuki was almost floored when he actually saw his white haired neighbor at the UA entrance exams. He had barely thought of her at all the past few years, she just became another face in the crowd after his mom stopped nagging him to be her friend. He didn't expect her to have the guts to apply. He had waited for her, to walk her home after the exams were finished, just because his mom told him to. But he wasted his time, since she never showed up. He walked home alone, almost depressed he didn't have someone to lord his score over. There was no _way _she made as many points as _him. _

The pale girl always seemed to waste his time. When he first laid eyes on her he thought it might've been nice to have a girl as a friend, but his lackeys quickly beat the idea out of him. Girls were weak. They're all damsels in distress, and then she proved just how weak she was when he knocked her down in three seconds flat. He thought she might've had promise, at one point, but that visual was shattered quickly. She was too timid for hero work. Same as Deku. Too timid, too scared, too weak.

He had written her off, but now, he wasn't so sure. Watching her beat the hell out of that brown punching bag almost made him wanna fight her, give her something that could punch back. She had improved. He thought she gave up, but here she was, quietly improving herself. Maybe she did better on the exam than he originally thought.

He leaned on the fence, watching as she worked herself to the bone. She was obviously exhausted, covered in sweat, but kept going. Analyzing her strikes and kicks, he noticed she was fast and flexible. He committed a few moves he thought might be useful to memory, before knocking lightly on the wooden fence he was leaning on. He caught her attention immediately, and he tried to not notice the fact that she was wearing shorter shorts than normal when she turned to face him. It was hard though.

Can't blame him, he _is_ a teenage dude. He can appreciate some good legs. Even if they were on a weak chick.

"Oi, Snow White. I don't know what you think you were doing at the entrance exams yesterday, but get it straight, I'm gonna crush you if you think you can beat me." His voice wasn't as raspy as normal, but it wasn't soft either. It was just a declaration. His normally sharp eyes looked more pastel in such low light, she noticed as she turned to look at him. But they were just as intense. Her glowing sunflower eyes looked straight back, not backing down.

"Oi, Katsuki. My name is Sakura. And if I beat you, you have it coming." Her own declaration was quieter, but held just as much malice, and even more determination. Looking in her eyes right then, Katsuki Bakugo wasn't sure what he felt.

Intimidated, was one feeling on the list for sure. He wasn't sure how this quiet girl put so much fear that wasn't quite fear into him. He didn't know the feeling. He didn't like it. So when the time came, he'd beat her down again. Maybe that would help.

The teen neighbors glowered at each other for another moment, before Katsuki decided he was tired of wasting his time. The girl wasted his time too much as it was. He slunk back to his own home, and Sakura picked up her workout faster and more aggressive than before. She worked until Kent came home late that night (almost morning) and made her stop, fearing the neighbors would be annoyed with the noise she was making.

She continued shadow boxing in her room until about 2 am anyways, as quiet as possible.

Six days later found Sakura staring at a envelope white enough to rival her quirk, a blood red seal stamped with blocky letters 'UA'.

Her hands shook, whether from anxiety or excitement, she couldn't tell. Her parents weren't home, once again absorbed in their work lives. They had become much busier after she started spending more time at the dojo, since they finally felt comfortable enough to leave her alone for longer periods of time, they were both going on business trips much more often. Her mom had done most of the trips in the past, but now that Kent was getting back into his work groove from being a stay at home dad, he wanted to stretch his wings a little.

That didn't mean she wasn't lonely, being alone in such a quiet house. Sakura respected their work since it put a roof over her head, food in her belly, and a phone in her pocket. But man did she get lonely.

Which, is exactly why she loaded up her duffle bag with her workout gear, and headed to her second home. Akihiko-sensei was always there when the dojo was open. If her parents weren't there to see her open her letter, then Akihiko-sensei was the next best person to do it with. Additionally, Izuna, Chirako, and Keisuke were like her three big brothers. If any one of them were there today, she would be even happier.

When she got to the dojo, she changed into her regular workout ensemble first, before heading over to talk to Akihiko-sensei. He glanced at her, noting the anxiety she wore clearly in her expression, before turning back to his meditation. This was her invitation. Se fiddled with the edge of the envelope as she thought about what to say.

"Sensei... do you know if any of the guys will be here later?" She asked hesitantly. She hoped the answer was yes, but it was a Friday morning, and they probably had lives to attend to. At the odd question, he turned around to face her fully.

"Not that I'm aware. Why are you curious?" It had never been a question before, if someone showed up they showed up, if they were gone no one questioned it. Only new pupils had to be in the dojo certain hours a week, which, at the moment, they had none. Sakura pulled the envelope out of her hoodie pocket, and Akihiko immediately understood. "See, sensei, Mr. and Mrs. Soto are still out of town, and I didn't wanna open it alone."

Akihiko smiled brightly at his young student, honored by her unasked question. He knew she considered him her grandfather of sorts, just as he saw his four pupils as sort of... ugly, rambunctious grandchildren. That weren't his, so he could knock them around a little if he wanted, without having to say sorry. "Open it, Mai-chan. Let us see."

Sakura gave a shaky smile, slid to her knees, and popped the wax seal from the stiff envelope. A small disc slid into her hand, and she quickly placed it on the floor between them as a hologram started. Immediately, Sakura had an idea. She took her phone out and set it up against her bag a few feet away, filming both the hologram and the pairs' reaction so she could show her parents later on. Soon, the UA logo disappeared and the legendary hero All Might took its place.

Sakura felt tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, which were strained as she tried to stop them from falling. In her heart, she already felt she had failed herself. She tried her best, but she still didn't feel like it was enough. She didn't even keep track of her own score for fucks sake.

Almost three years of punching until her literal bones were sore, staying up and studying every night so she wouldn't fall behind in classes, waking up at ungodly hours every morning to work even more on her body that was _still _too weak.

She stayed quiet as the tears started rolling down her cheeks freely, she gave up on holding it in. The hologram began speaking.

Akihiko sensei laid a hand on her shoulder for support, waiting patiently. After the announcement of All Mights employment at UA, they got into her test scores. She would have been more excited at the prospect of being a student to the #1 hero, if she had any hope. His booming voice captured her attention, and she hoped the projection and audio would appear the same on her phones video.

"Hello young Mai! You passed the written evaluation with a 78, not bad! But, in the battle simulation, you were only able to score 22 points."

Sakura hung her head. Her white hair covered her face, so the camera hopefully wouldn't be able to record all the self loathing she knew was painted on her features. That was it. She had failed. She was so close. Her watery yellow eyes raised to meet Akihikos', determination already set firmly behind the disappointment. It didn't matter if they didn't accept her, because Akihiko-sensei would train her, until he couldn't anymore. She would surpass him. And there were other hero schools. None she would be half so happy to attend, but she had options.

"Fortunately, there are factors you're graded on that you were not initially made aware of," he started. Yellow eyes snapped back, wide as saucers. A spark of hope had been lit. "The practical exam was not graded on combat alone! The Hero course cannot in good conscious refuse someone who is committed to saving others, no matter the consequence to themselves!"

A screen popped up behind him, it was her, standing in shock as a red haired boy ran in fear. It played out the scene she had imagined so many times in her head, the one part of the exam she didn't really regret, even if it costed her admission to the top school in the country.

It showed a white haired girl standing over a small unconscious boy, a giant green foot was closing in on them wickedly fast. Watching it on video was a lot different from remembering it. On video, it happened so quickly. In barely two seconds, and two steps forward, she watched as her rib cage ripped from her body and created their barrier. Red blood dripped down, stark against her pale skin.

Looking at it from far away made her realize how small she was compared to her makeshift shield. It gave her hope that her quirk had strong potential. Her hand drifted to her rib cage, floating over the bandages on her sides, just under her breasts. She didn't move fast enough to save herself from injury, but she still saved the smaller boy.

The torn flesh only left silvery scars after Recovery Girl healed her, anyways. The bandages were just so they didn't reopen. Akihiko watched silently, almost moved to tears at the bravery and selflessness of his youngest pupil. _'I think she might've just become my favorite, but I won't never mention that to anyone else. Izuna would surely put me into an early grave with his complaining.'_

"That's what being a Hero is all about. So, you were also graded with rescue points!" There was a serious of judge cards that flashed through the screen, each carrying a rather high number. "40 rescue points! For a total score of 62 points, Mai Sakura, you passed the UA Entrance Exams. Welcome, you are now part of the Hero Academia!"

Sakura stared in shock, tears flowing even more freely. Happy tears, this time. "I passed?"

Sakura looked at Akihiko. His own yellow-ish eyes were trained on her, watching her reaction. The hologram died down to a flicker, and she was still in shock. He put his arm around her shaking shoulder completely and tucked her into his side as she cried. She let all her stress from that week out, no, she let all the frustration from _years _of hard work finally come pouring out.

_'I fucking made it!'_

Now Sakura was glad the guys weren't there. They'd all be making fun of her for crying right about now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**A/N **

**Thanks to Apple Bloom for your reviews ~3 **

**I'm just kinda throwing these out as I write them, it's my first story, and I'm really liking it so far to be honest. Feel free to throw any misspellings in my face, but keep in mind I'm writing this all on an iphone6, so at least give me credit where credit is due cx **


	4. Bone to be Wild

It was finally the first day of school, and Sakura was rushing about her house neurotically to get her backpack together. The plan was to pack her books up when she got back from her jog last night, but it slipped her mind after she ran an extra mile to get her first day hitter out. She checked over her cute new grey uniform five times in the mirror before she went down for breakfast, and twice more before she left for the subway. She wanted to make a good impression on her first day.

She left her snowy hair down, leaving it natural like she usually did. It was parted slightly to the right, leaving a few strands to brush over her left eye. The newly trimmed ends laid on her shoulders, threatening to get caught in the straps of her backpack. '_Maybe I should have asked the hairdresser to cut off a couple more inches..._'

The pale girl had improvised that morning and made a pair of thin bone bangle bracelets, which were hard, smooth, and cold against her wrists. They were obviously a lot heavier than a normal bracelet, but why spend money on something she can make? No one could tell what they were made of but her, and no one could accuse her of actively using her quirk, since she can't control what isn't attached.

Sakura arrived on campus and waited in a small line to get a map from the front office. She knew she would need one, with her bad sense of direction. Pulling out her syllabus she had gotten in the mail, she headed to her new home room after taking a few minutes to get a grasp of the map and directions provided by the nice brown haired office secretary. She still almost got lost three times in the large hallways, at one point having to swallow her pride and anxiety to ask a nearby upperclassmen for directions.

As she passed by other students in the halls, the nervous teen no longer felt self conscious about her paper colored skin and hair. Yellow eyes tried not to stare at an upper classman with a distinctly dog-shaped face... Yeah, she definitely wasn't the most odd looking of the bunch. In fact, in this crowd, she barely stood out.

Arriving to her classroom, she saw the green-haired boy she sat next to at the exams standing in front of the gigantic door labeled 1-A, looking terrified. Sakura steeled herself, trying to ignore the blush on her face as she approached the boy to talk. She did tell herself she would try to make friends, if she got accepted. And she already _kind of _knew him. "Hey, you're Midoriya-kun, right? I'm Mai Sakura, I remember you from the exams!"

She startled him out of deep thought, and he brought his arms up defensively, blocking his face. "O-oh! Nice to meet you Mai-chan!" He lowered his arms and rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed to have flinched so aggressively.

"We went to the same middle school, right? Crazy how we're in the same class now!" Sakura beamed. Her face felt hot, but she ignored it as much as she could. Her comment seemed to reassure him slightly, and he responded. "Y-yeah! It's glad to see a familiar face, I'm not so nervous anymore."

He gave her a shaky smile that told his lie. He was still practically vibrating with anxiety. He turned back towards the door, looking like he was trying to muster the courage to open it. Sakura, deciding he was taking too long, moved in front and opened it herself.

Midoriya saw her freeze, and peered over the shorter girls' shoulder at the scene that made her hesitate to enter. Bakugo Katsuki was sitting with his feet on the desk, getting yelled at by some tall blue-haired dude. She couldn't believe he was in her freakin class. The snow-haired girl only then realized how lucky she had been to not share any classes with him previously. She felt a bead of sweat roll down her temple.

Even more unbelievably, he was already getting into fights. This was gonna be a long year. Sakura took a step forward, resigning to ignore whatever was playing out in front of her. Not her business.

"Your old school put a stick up your ass?! Or were you born with it?"

Acid words spat loud enough to echo caused her to _almost_ face plant, as she froze but her momentum continued forward. After she caught herself she spun her head to face the scene once again, hoping a fight wouldn't _actually _break out. Midoriya was still hiding behind her, also seeming to fear where this was going.

The blue-haired boy seemed appalled, but took a step back. "Let's retry. I'm Iida Tenya, from Somei Private Academy." She and the boy next to her sighed quietly, glad that their classroom wasn't about to get destroyed on their first day

But it didn't seem to quell Katsukis anger, as he started threatening the poor dude. His voice was in its usual growl as he stood up and replied, "I'm Bakugo Katsuki, you're gonna remember that name forever after I kick your ass!"

Honestly, he was a broken record sometimes. 'I'm gonna beat you up', 'go die', 'I'll kick your ass', blah blah blah.

Iida gave up on the cherry eyed boy and set his sights elsewhere. Thankfully Katsuki just let him go. Midoriya and Sakura tried to pass him on their way to a couple of empty seats, but he stopped the boy next to her in his tracks. He intodruced himself again as Iida Tenya. Blue eyes turned steely as he regarded Izuku, completely ignoring the pale girl beside him. His strict demeanor was intimidating the much smaller teenagers. "You were the one who realized there was more to the entrance exams right? I completely misjudged you, you must be far superior to me!"

Midoriya didn't seem like he knew what to say in response, completely confused. It seemed like they took the practical portion of the test together. When another brown haired-girl flounced over to say hi, Sakura decided it was much too crowded, and moved on to find an empty seat as far from Katsuki as possible.

She was better on one-on-one conversations, in groups she tends to get ignored. Sakura was still within earshot of their conversation though, the bubbly brown-haired girl spoke loud enough for basically everyone in class to hear. Sakura tuned them out until she heard herself being mentioned. The girl who had introduced herself as Uraraka probably didn't even realize how loud she was being. "Hey, wait, so three people from your school got into UA?! And you're all in the same class! That's so ironic haha!"

Sakura took a glance at Katsuki, who was looking down his nose at the little group. Probably upset they were talking about him. She sighed, '_I guess I didn't know what to expect, but this class seems like it's gonna stress me out.'_

The fact that her hot-headed neighbor wasn't jumping down Midoriyas' throat was a blessing though. She could _feel_ the electricity spark in the air every time cherry eyes landed on green hair. Was it getting hot in here? No, it's just Bakugos' developing ability to set shit on fire with a single look. Maybe there was more to his quirk than they thought.

The door opened silently, and sunflower eyes spied a bright yellow sleeping bag at the entrance. Sakura raised her white eyebrows and sat straight in her seat, watching him startle the students who hadn't noticed his arrival.

"You all took 8 seconds too long to notice me. Time is precious. Hello, I am Aizawa Shota. Your teacher."

The man basically mumbled his introduction, not impressing any of them. He didn't look very interesting, for a pro. It almost looked like he was wearing pajamas with how baggy his clothes were, but Sakura supposed she shouldn't judge. There were weirder hero outfits. The dark haired man ambled to the front of the class and posted a paper on the board, something like a grid with names written on squares. It was a map of the classroom seats. "Find your assigned desks and we'll get started."

Sakura waited behind the crowd, but managed to catch a glimpse of her name in the very first desk, next to the windows. She sat in her new seat and waited for everybody to follow suit, rolling back and forth slightly on the chairs wheels. You couldn't deny that UA took pride in their students, and provided them with high-quality equipment, both for training and learning. These comfy chairs definitely wouldn't make her butt go numb, like the cheap plastic ones at her middle school had.

To her great _pleasure, _Katsuki was assigned the desk right behind her. She wondered what she did to piss Karma off. There's no way he wouldn't be giving her shit, and the only other people Sakura has been introduced to were all on the other side of class. She'd have to meet _more_ people. Great.

Aizawa-sensei started talking again as soon as everyone was seated. He kicked a box of clothing to the center of the room, bundles of coth wrapped with a rubber band with papers with names written on them pinned securely. "Find your uniform, get changed, and let's go outside. We're skipping student orientatiom for your quirk assessments."

Sakura quickly grabbed her gym uniform and followed the rest of the girls to the locker rooms. A couple of the students appeared confused and concerned about skipping the orientation, but the pale girl wasn't worried much, since the teacher didn't seem worried about it. She's rather glad they're skipping the probably long, boring, and useless introduction to UA.

Everyone else seemed excited, but she couldn't help but remember the first time she had her quirk assessed. It wasn't exactly comfortable.

The small-white haired child had been terrified to activate her quirk again when they got to the hospital. They eventually had to force her. That didn't end very well, as one could imagine. She was frantic as soon as she felt the bone protrude from her skin, it had thrown her into a tantrum. Sakura ended up with a busted blood vessel in her eye that day, from all the emotional turmoil the tests had put her under. She then spent weeks in psychiatric care, with nice nurses and therapists that helped her understand and control her fear. Her eye had taken weeks to heal, and she would always remember the look of her sunflower iris surrounded by apple red blood.

She pushed the unpleasant memory back into the pit it crawled from, ignoring the shiver that ran down her spine. She distracted herself with observing her new classmates on the walk to their assessment location. Flashbacks weren't fun.

Eventually the class ended up outside in neat lines, whispering while they waited for their sensei to start explaining the assessment. Their tired looking teacher was getting impatient with their chatter. Finally, he started his lecture, cutting off whoever had still been talking.

"We're skipping orientation, because if you really wanna make it in the big leagues, you can't waste your time on pointless ceremonies. You've been taking standardized tests all your lives, and you've never been able to use your quirks in physical assessments before. This country is not created equal, and they're trying to keep the powerful from excelling." To Sakura it seemed like he was pushing some rather elitist ideals, but she kept that to herself. The tall man asked Katsuki his longest distance throw in middle school, which ended up being 67m. He was then directed to stand at the pitch, and throw an electronic-esque softball. "Anything goes, just stay in the circle."

He shrug, before stretching, winding his muscled arm a couple times, rearing back and flinging the object, screaming, "Goooo DIE!"

It happened so quick Sakuradidn't even see the ball leave his palm. It sailed clear over the treetops, and they held their breath as they waited to hear the results.

Aizawa sensei looked at his little screen, turning it so the students could see. "705m! Use your quirks to enhance yourself to the best of your abilities in these assessments. Whoever comes last gets expelled immediately. Good luck, there's only 8 tests. If that's a problem, you can head home right now!"

He had an almost sadistic look on his face. The teenagers surrounding him cried out at the unfairness. Sakura had no time for complaining though, a grim look of determination fell over her face, her full lip set to a pout. She had to think this through carefully. She needed the best scores she could possibly get. Her parents still hadn't returned from their trip, and she couldn't imagine the embarrassment of getting expelled before they even got back to celebrate her acceptance. '_I have no choice but to go beyond my limits. There's too many impressive students in this class, I might not make it.'_

The first test was the 50m dash. As the first runners lined at the start, Sakura closed her eyes to concentrate. She could just lower her density, but that might not be enough. She had to go plus ultra!

Yellow eyes cracked open, and she stared at her shoes in thought. Well... maybe she could-

Her thought was interrupted, as the first race was already over, and her name was called for the next. Sakura felt panicked. She hadn't completely thought the idea out, and had no idea if it would actually work. She needed more time to think!

One panicked look at Aizawa-senseis' gleeful face made her question once again if she could make it. But that only made her more determined to impress him and prove to _herself_ that she could.

Sakura kicked off her shoes when she got to her spot. They wouldn't have much traction on such smooth ground. Her classmates were looking at her oddly, but she didn't pay them any mind. She was just hoping this didn't backfire on her. Trying out new moves without testing them first could be very danergous.

Sakura lowered her density and readied the bones in her feet, creating a new pair of "shoes". They were dense enough not to crack under her weight, but light and slim enough to have no effect on her gait. A couple students faces turned green as they saw the pale skin on her foot slide up her ankle like a backwards sock. Sakura was just glad her feet didn't require the same intricate amount of plates as her hands did, and didn't leave any of her soft muscle exposed. It almost looked like she was just wearing pristine, shining white ankle socks.

She lowered herself as much as she could, hoping to minimize air resistance. The boy running with her had red hair and a rather muscular build, she couldn't help but notice the muscles in his arms and legs as he stretched beside her. Sakura thought he was pretty cute. She blushed crimson as he glanced at her and winked, "Hey, let's do our best!"

He flipped her a thumbs up right as the cute little timing robot next to her shouted "GO!"

He started running a millisecond before her, but her lightened bones and improvised cleats helped her clear the short distance in 6 seconds flat. With every step, she had spikes propel her forward and break off as she picked her foot up. The track behind her was riddled with holes, with bones sticking out here and there. Her timing could have been better, but for a first try, she felt pretty impressed with herself. The red-headed boy wasn't far behind her. "Woa-oa-oh! That was so cool! You flew right passed me at the end! I'm Kirishima Eijiro."

"I'm Mai Sakura, nice to meet you Kirishima-kun!" She gave him a pearly smile. He walked over to some of the holes she put in the ground, pulling out a spike that had broken off. She slipped her shoes back on, and her brought it over for her to see. "So what's this? Some typa' rock? What's your quirk?"

Sakura glanced at him, a smirk forming on her lips. How would he react? Most people thought it was unnerving. "Oh? It's not a rock. My quirk is called Osteal."

He tilted his head to the side, obviously not recognizing the word. There was a black haired girl with a spiked ponytail standing behind him that was eves-dropping on their little introduction. She looked like she was about to smack it out of his hand. Someone knew their medical vocabulary. "It's bone, I can manipulate my skeletal and integumentary structures in a variety of ways due to the large amounts of calcium and collagen."

He froze, looking from the spike, to her, and back to the spike. He quickly dropped it and wiped his hand on his pants, hiding his embarrassment with a topic change. "Oh! Now I remember you. We were in the same Battle Center during the entrance exams! That giant rib cage lookin' thing was yours then?! That's so manly!"

Sakura hadn't expected such enthusiasm. She felt her face getting hot at the insinuation of her quirk being 'manly'. She became even more humiliated when she realized that this was the boy that saved her. She rubbed the back of her head apologetically as she spoke, "O-oh yeah! You're the one that caught me when I fell off that building. Thanks for that, I owe you! I probably wouldn't have passed if you didn't."

"Don't worry about it Mai-chan, I kinda left you behind after that anyways. That huge robot was terrifying!" Sakura giggled at his humble deflection. "Just Mai is fine, you can drop the honorific. You saved me after all."

Kirishima smiled and nodded at her. "Same for you then! Call me Kirishima." They both quieted as the next names were called.

Aizawa sensei has the rest of the class move to the next track over, seeing as she kind of destroyed her side. Kirishima and Sakura walked together, comparing their experiences of the exam and their scores. He seemed so friendly. He explained his hardening quirk to her, and she explained how she could recreate something similar with her bone armor.

Katsuki and Midoriya went right after them, with Katsuki beating her time by a full second, Midoriyas' time by two. He gave her a mocking smirk, and she almost expected him to stick his tongue out at her. She could see him being that childish. She huffed and told Kirishima she was going to get some water, and that she needed space to plan for the next tests. Hopefully Katsuki wouldn't upstage her in every round.

Next was their grip test. She couldn't do much for this one, merely make her hand as dense and possible and squeeze with all her strength. She noticed Midoriya next to her, struggling himself. She shared with him her low scores, whining as she spoke, "I'm sucking at these tests, Midoriya-kun! My quirk is so useless."

"Mai-chan! Your quirk isn't useless, just not helpful in every situation. I'm sure you'll really shine in the areas that actually matter when we get more training and practice!" His green apple eyes were gleaming with kindness, throwing Sakura off for a moment. She blushed heavily, fliddling with the hem of her blue gym shirt as she regarded him again. Sakura never knew how to take compliments, she went with her go-to response of "T-thanks, I guess?"

Standing long jumps were next on the list, and once again, Sakura was at a loss of what to do. She couldn't just shoot pillars from her feet to carry her the distance, she technically had to jump. The most she could do was make herself as light as possible, and maybe try her propelling trick again?

She took her running start, gaining momentum as she did, cut during her leap she had a blunt-ended bone rod tear through the sole of her shoe and into the ground, attempting to give her at least a little extra height.

Sadly, she forgot to take her shoes off, and she had timed it too early, killing her entire momentum and sending the small girl only a few feet past the starting mark. Onto her face. She could hear snickers and laughter behind her, and tried not to yell out of frustration. She knew she could have gotten a lot farther, but Aizawa-sensei wouldn't give her a retry.

She wanted to smack herself. How could she forget to take off her shoes?!

Sakura resigned herself to being expelled. Her only hope was Midoriya sucking worse than her. While it was a rude thought, it was her only hope to stay in UA, and if she had to step on a few heads, so be it. She really hoped that wasn't the case, the teen had been nice to her, but he was the only one she noticed doing poorly.

Repeated side steps were easier than she expected, but just lightened density alone didn't make her stand out. You couldn't even tell anything was different by looking at her, other than maybe the different way she moved. She couldn't think of any other possible use of her quirk. Sakura was disappointed in her performance so far. '_This is almost pathetic..._'

Ball throw was next. It felt like these stupid assessments would never end. The time between each test took _forever_ since they only had one teacher to observe and grade, and she was getting _really_ impatient. Her quirk wasn't exactly useful for enhancing her existing abilities, it was practically useless here. She was ready for today to be over with.

Katsuki sat off to the side, watching as Sakura prepared for her turn. Sakura noticed him watching, but tried not to let it get to her. She had to focus on proving herself. If she let him distract her, she wouldn't be able to beat any of his scores. She just wanted to beat _one _of his results_, _and she would be happy.

When it was her turn, she stood up on the mound Katsuki had been on not long ago. Taking a deep breath, she focused on the ball-in-socket joints in her elbow and shoulder, rounding them out, giving her almost full mobility. She often used this in her jujustu spars so her older more experienced opponents couldn't lock her joints, and when they tried, she could go in for a grapple. But, it could be useful here too.

She wound her arm up and let her breath out as she shot the ball at a sharp 45 degree angle. Her elbow and shoulder had bent back unnaturally far, at first glance one might think her quirk was hyperflexibility. It went farther than she expected it to, sailing into the trees, but not as far as some students had landed. At least here she was in the middle of the pack, instead of trailing last. She allowed her bones to return to their original shape, rolling her shoulder. The muscles in her arm weren't quite flexible enough to pull in the direction she had forced them in.

Maybe she should start doing some crazier stretches with her quirk, so she can get full mobility from every joint without straining her muscles? The amount of blind spots in her combat style would cut in half. She grinned at the revelation.

When Midoriya was called up next, and there was a huge scene, revealing that Midoriya can't use his quirk without hurting himself, and their sensei could erase someone's quirk just by looking at them. The white haired teen was shocked to realize her lazy looking teacher had such a badass ability. After watching Midoriya break his finger with his quirk a moment later, she was glad she only had a tiny pulled muscle.

His quirk was so powerful it blew Sakura away. Her mouth dropped as she watched the ball soar through the clouds and out of sight. '_I thought he was quirkless. He hid such a powerful ability for years? __Remind me to not get on his bad side.' _To the left of her, Katsuki started charging him, livid at his top score being beaten. "WHAT THE HELL DEKU?! WHEN DID YOU GET THAT STRONG?!"

Aizawa-senseis' scarf snagged him as he tried blasting by the man... who started to seem really pissed off with his new classes antics. "This is my capture weapon, don't even bother fighting it. Stand down, and all of you, stop making me use my quirk. It gives me serious dry eye."

Midoriya skirted around the stalled Katsuki as he walked back to his grouped up classmates, the killing intent surrounding him was so palpable Sakura swore she saw a fly freeze and die midair as it flew by.

The rest of the tests were pretty uneventful after that.

The distance run went about the same as the 50m dash. She was used to going on morning runs three or four times a week, so she was barely out of breath by the time she was finished. The spikes she left protruding from the ground using her new trick had tripped up a few of her classmates, but that wasn't her problem.

She walked around barefoot in between name calls, her ruined shoes found their way into a nearby trash can.

Sit up portion went pretty well, she did better than she expected, but still fell behind those with better physical quirks. This was a talented group of kids, and Sakura was starting to feel out of place.

The seated toe touch was the final test, and as it turns out, she was the most flexible in the class. She could touch her nose to the ground and extend the bones in her fingertips quite a long distance. Odd, how the most simple test was the one she bested everyone in. It was almost anticlimactic to beat Katsukis' score, she didn't feel like it counted.

While it felt good to feel like she wasn't completely behind the rest of the class, her lower scores weighed heavily on her shoulders. She hoped it was enough to keep her out of last place, but with Midoriyas' amazing ball throw, she wasn't so sure anymore.

They gathered around their sensei for the results. Sakura's pale hands were shaking, and her knees felt like they would fold from under her at any minute. She held her breath and waited as the names lined themselves up on the projected holographic screen their teacher held.

She was placed in 15th place, right above some Kaminari dude. The weight on her shoulders melted away, she was so relieved she almost didn't notice the green-haired boys quiet despair.

When she saw who was in the 21st spot, she made her way over to him and placed her hand on his back, offering her silent support.

"By the way, I was lying. No one is going home, it was just a lie to get you to push yourselves."

The entire class froze, staring at the dark haired man smirking at them. His voice was so nonchalant, with an infuriating smirk on his thin lips. Rage overtook her and Sakura saw red. It took everything in her power not to rush the man, knowing he could subdue her just as easily and he did Katsuki. It didn't stop her from seething through the rest of the classes and on the way home. She ignored Katsuki as they took the same route, flying off the bus and running ahead so she wouldn't have to deal with whatever smart ass comments he would throw at her. She wasn't in the mood.

As soon as she got home she changed into a pair of baggy workout shorts and a black tank top. She wrapped her hands as she walked outside, getting ready to take out her frustrations on the punching bag dangling in front of her. Before she could start, she heard a footstep, and turned to see Katsuki still in his uniform, standing at the gate. He looked about as pissed as she felt, but he always looked pretty pissed, so that wasn't saying much.

She was going to wait longer to challenge him. But there's no time like the present. Seemed like he had some anger to let loose too. She almost laughed at the nostalgic memory as she spoke the same words again, this time much more confidently. Her eyes practically glowing with mirth, and her voice was scratchy as she called out, "Spar with me."

He gave his famous feral grin, turning to stalk back to his house. "Just let me change Snow White, I'm gonna show you who's boss!"

Before long they were facing each other in her backyard, Katsukis' black tank top and basketball shorts almost mirrored Sakuras' own outfit. The skinny girl let him borrow some of her hand wraps, and they got into their starting stances, waiting for someone to make the first move. Her sunflower yellow eyes looked more orange in this light, most likely from the quickly darkening sky.

The look in her apricot eyes and set of her pout told him she was confident, and had been waiting for this moment. He couldn't wait to wipe that look right off her face, just like he did three years ago.

Being in the small backyard area, they had agreed upon no quirk usage. But he wouldn't need it. She was a lot smaller, this would be a murder.

He dashed in fast, throwing a left hook, but Sakura moved right just in time to avoid it and send her left knee to his abdomen. Katsuki twisted on his foot, narrowly escaping her attack. They each took a step back, assessing each other once more before going in for another clash of fists.

Katsuki wouldn't let her get behind him like she wanted to, his reflexes and intuition were too sharp. But she was too fast, he couldn't land a solid hit, knuckles barely grazing by. Her pale skin felt solid underneath his fists, and he couldn't tell if it was natural side effect from her quirk or just from pure muscle. For such a tiny frame, she definitely wasn't weak. He was kept on his toes, particularly when his feints stopped being effective at all, so he dropped them entirely.

He could tell the moment Sakura decided enough was enough. She met him head on this time. He finally landed a full punch to her left side, but not before she landed a knee in his hip in the same move they began with. He cussed at the force of her blow, not expecting such power.

They broke apart again, gold eyes capturing ruby. Katsuki hadn't expected her to be able to hit so hard, although he probably should have assumed she would have heavy hands. Or, knees?

This time when their fists met, it was ruthless. They traded blocks and blows, getting an _almost_ even amount of damage in. Sakura's hits were more powerful and did more damage but she couldn't land very many, while Katsukis' jabs were faster and plentiful, but hardly damaged her naturally hard body structure.

The fight ended when Sakura finally was able to land a throw, tossing the boy across the yard in a surprising show of strength for the short statured girl. Katsuki was forced to use his quirk to land on his feet, surprised at how high he had flown from the toss. He took a second to catch his breath. "Where was that strength during the ball throw?"

She glared at him, huffing from the mini workout she just got. They were both equally out of breath. She was good. "I wasn't this angry during the ball throw."

He started stretching and rolling his shoulders as he made his way towards the fence, pretty tuckered out. He had used his quirk much more in class than her today. She went back to her punching bag, and was about to start up again. He was half expecting her to protest his leaving, to be honest, he wanted to stay and fight more himself. There had been no clear winner of their impromptu spar. But he was too exhausted.

"Night Sakura-chan," he called. Her head swiveled to face him, the shock on her face would have made him crack a smile, if he wasn't so tired. '_She isn't as bad as I thought...'_

He, surprisingly, felt really good. Normally after a fight there was anger, or a sense of superior satisfaction, or _something _simmering in his chest, but right now, he just felt.. content.

"Night Katsuki-kun, thanks for the spar. I needed that." She gave him a genuine smile. She liked 'Sakura' much better than 'Snow White'. His red eyes studied her for a second longer before turning back to the street. He left the gate open again, and Sakura rolled her eyes, moving to close it.

She hopped back to her place in front of the swinging bag. Her frustration at her teacher was ebbing, but she still didn't like him throwing expulsion in their faces. The small spar took her mind off things, but it wasn't really enough, he wasn't at his full potential. Neither of them really were. The fact that they were pretty evenly matched when he was _weakened_ only added to her frustrations. That anger was still simmering as she finally finished her workout and embarked for a much needed shower.

Just as she finished drying off, she heard the front door open and close. Knowing what this meant, Sakura hurried to wrap her towel around her head before flying down the stairs and into her foster fathers arms. Her heart felt the lightest it had in weeks as she cried, "Mr. Soto!!"

She patted her back, almost hard enough to knock the wind out of her, before setting her back on her feet just in time for her to spin and throw herself into Aikos' open arms. "I missed you guys so much! So much has happened these past few weeks! What did you think of the video!?"

The couple laughed at their daughters excitement, glad to finally be home and congratulate her. Aikos' soft, apologetic voice answered her. "Sorry for taking so long sweetie. We were so happy you were able to take a video for us! You should have seen your father, he started crying on the hotel shuttle bus!"

Kent clapped and started talking over his wife, the blush on his cheeks giving away his embarrassment. He was red enough to match his hair. "No need to tell her any more! Anyways, we know it's late, but let's go celebrate! We've already waited too long! What do you want to do munchkin?"

Sakura put a finger to her cheek, trying to think. They just got home from a long trip, and she didn't really feel like going anywhere after her workout...

She looked up at her parents. They smiled eagerly at her, waiting for her answer. When was the last time they all spent a night together at home? Either one of them was always gone, rarely were they both home simultaneously. "Can we just order a pizza and watch some movies together? I don't wanna go anywhere special, I'm just glad we're all here!" Sakura beamed.

Her parents immediately started gushing over their thoughtful daughter, leaving her to order the food while they unpacked their bags.

That night was the first good nights sleep Sakura got all week. All of her simmering anger evaporated with the hugs and attention from her family. She dozed off on the couch late that night, her head in her mothers lap. Aikos' brown hair tickled her nose, and Sakura realized how much she loved the way it smelled.

She was so glad to have such a caring family. If she had been stuck in an orphanage, with rotating staff and other equally emotionally damaged children, she would have gone down a very different road of life.

But here she was, and she wouldn't trade it for the world.


	5. Tibia Or Not Tibia

**A/N**

**I need help coming up with Sakura's hero name. Leave any ideas in the reviews or PM me!**

**I'm going back through previous chapters to edit/add to them. If you want to go back and re-read you can, but there haven't been any huge alterations. Just trying to smooth everything out. Updates might also take a little longer since I actually feel like putting effort into this! **

**To answer one reviewers question, I am sticking to the story line, but Sakura won't be following the plot around, if that makes sense? She has her own plot, which coincides or crosses with the main. Some parts I feel are unnecessary or don't help the plot might be left out. **

**Thanks so much for reading, and ~_special~ _****thanks to those who have been leaving reviews! I wouldn't have kept writing if you weren't encouraging me! Constructive criticism is always welcome!**

**—**

The next morning found Sakura waking up a little earlier than usual. Her parents hadn't left for work yet, so she was able to join them for breakfast before they left.

When the door shut behind them, Sakura started getting herself ready for school. Pulling on the grey uniform and some thigh high black socks, she skipped her way down the sidewalk. Katsuki was leaving his house at the same time, slamming the door and grumbling his way down the sidewalk. She guessed he wasn't a morning person.

Thankfully, he only scoffed in her direction as they started on the same route. Sakura could feel his cherry eyes following her from across the street, but she pulled out her phone to scroll through Facebook, effectively shutting him out of her thoughts. Her morning wouldn't be ruined by some pissy brat.

The pale girl slipped the device back into her bag as she boarded the subway. There were no seats left, so she was forced to stand.

Sakura hated having to stand, she could never reach the handle to hold herself steady, so she always had to find a pole to hang onto. Said poles were always in use though.

After scanning the compartment and after not seeing any openings, she resigned herself to standing by the door, trying not to get in anyone's way.

Katsuki passed her with a shoulder check before disappearing somewhere in the crowd. She pouted at his attitude. Sometimes he was decent and other times it seemed like he hated her, and she didn't know how to deal with it. It was like she was always walking on eggshells around him.

The subway car jolted, and they were off to the next stop. Sakura lost her balance for a short second. The stop after this one was hers, and she sighed in relief. '_At least it's a short commute.'_

She was so lost in thought, she almost got trampled as the next flow of passengers entered the car. It was packed now, and Sakura couldn't see around the taller people surrounding her on all sides. A spike of anxiety shot through her but she pushed it down. It was just a small crowd, no reason to be nervous. Her stop was next. She would do this.

She really had no reason to be nervous, up until she felt something tickle the back of her thigh. The small girl immediately froze, hoping that someone had just brushed against her on accident.

She should move to a new spot, just in case. Every teenage girl knew that sexual predators loved situations like these. She grew up an orphan, she wasn't a stranger to questionable men approaching her when they noticed she was alone.

The white haired girl tried her best to squeeze through a small gap to her left, but there was just too many people, and they weren't letting her through. The wall was in front of her, there was no other escape. The passengers she was trying to squeeze past were getting verbally annoyed with her pushing. Pale cheeks felt burning hot as Sakura resigned to stand in her original spot.

This time, when she felt fingers brush the skin of her thigh, she knew there was pervert behind her. She tried moving her leg, but the contact followed. She felt a body press lightly against her back, and she jerked forwards, trying to move as far away as possible.

Fuck the complaints of those around her, she wasn't about to get molested. She tried to elbow the man behind her, hoping to gain a little bit of space. This just made him put his hand over her stomach and pull her closer.

Tears started gathering in her eyes at her frustration. A ball of fear lodged itself in her throat, keeping her from speaking.

If she used her quirk to get out of this situation, she'd be fined and probably even expelled from UA. Public use of quirks in a subway was grounds for jail time for adults, as a teen she could get away with community service, but her school had _standards. _

Before she could attempt another struggle, she felt the hand on her stomach go slack. She fell into another persons chest, the lack of resistance throwing her off balance, but the boy caught her.

"What the _fuck _do you think you're doing to her?"

Her bleary eyes blinked up, landing on ash blonde hair and red eyes. Katsuki's hand gripped the perpetrators wrist tightly, bending it at an odd angle. His blood red eyes were more animalistic than she had ever seen, and she was silently thankful they weren't directed at her.

The pressure against her back completely vanished, but he didn't let go of the mans hand. "I'm gonna ask you again, _bastard. _What, the fuck, were you doing?"

She didn't wanna look at the man behind her, and she didn't even have to. She felt his fear. She was afraid for him, as well. The smell of urine invaded her senses. '_Did he really just freaking pee his pants?' _Sakura moved as close as she could to the angry teen, grabbing at the bottom of his uniform jacket. She tried covered her face with her bangs, as tears had started to fall, and she didn't want Katsuki of all people couldn't see. The man tried to stammer out an apology. "I-I-uh I'm sorry miss! I didn't do it on purpose!"

His excuse only made Katsuki more livid. His grip tightened, and she could feel his muscles tense. A dangerous creaking sound came from the old mans arm. "You didn't fuckin' mean to huh bastard?! Well I'm not gonna mean it when I break your _fucking _neck-"

The door next to them interrupted him with a ding. It cracked open soon enough, and the white-skinned teenager flew through it, dragging the taller boy with her. He stumbled after her, trying to stop. "What the fuck Sakura?! We gotta go back and turn him in or something! I saw what he did to you, he's just gonna do it until he's caught!"

He was obviously pissed she had drug him away before he even got to finish his threat. Katsuki forcefully stopped her, spinning her around so she was facing him, but she didn't wanna look at him. He'd just make fun of her for being weak.

Blonde eyebrows were deeply furrowed, and his scowl was in place once more. "What's your fucking... problem?"

Katsuki stared into her golden eyes, which were shining with tears. Her face was wet, and they both only just noticed how bad her hands were shaking. _Most_ of the anger melted from his body, but his shoulders and brow were still tensed. She didn't know what to say. Her voice probably would have cracked if she tried talking anyways.

Katsuki grabbed onto her biceps, his hands were incredibly warm. The closeness made her notice Katsuki actually smelled pretty good, almost like caramel or butterscotch. "Why didn't you say or do something? Why didn't you call for help?"

She sighed, clearing her throat. The contact helped bring her down from her little panic attack. "I panicked. I couldn't use my quirk and there were so many people, if I tried fighting I would've hurt them. It felt like my voice wouldn't work, I couldn't talk, I was too scared. Some hero I'll be..."

He stared at her for a moment too long, she started feeling self conscious. Tears still hadn't stopped falling from her honey eyes. The blonde dropped one of her arms and lead her to a nearby restroom. "Clean up. I'll wait."

She followed his directions, washing her face and fixing her uniform. Her right sock had rolled down, and her tucked shirt was loose. She only just noticed there was a button missing too, a gap showed off her pale tummy. It must have popped off.

The jacket would cover it for today at least, she had an extra she could sow back on when she got home.

She returned to Katsuki's side. He was slouching against the wall, hands in his pockets, a bored expression on his face. She looked off to the side, hoping he didn't comment on her red-ringed eyes. "You really didn't have to save me."

He scoffed, making a face at her. "You know, a thank you would've sounded better."

She blushed, embarrassed. He didn't seem to take any real offense though, and they were quiet as they walked to rest of the way to school. At least he didn't mention how puffy her eyes were. Just as they were about to enter campus, he spoke.

"Hey, let me know if you want me to walk with you from now on.. if you keep attracting trouble like that, I'll be the number one hero in no time. Did you _see _that guy piss his pants?! He was terrified of me!" He had a smirk on his face. Sakura could tell he was teasing her, in his own asshole way.

"You don't need to, but thanks for the offer." Sakura looked to the side, contemplating, before turning to face him. She bowed at her waist, "Thank you, Katsuki, for saving me."

Her face was as red as her fathers hair, she was sure. As she peered up at his expression, she was surprised to see the tips of his ears were red as well. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's only natural for the future number one hero to save a damsel in distress."

Sakura shot him a melting glare that rivaled one of his own, her gratitude gone with the wind at his remark. "What the hell?! Damsel in distress?! I'll show you who the damsel is next time we spar!" She screeched, throwing a punch at his shoulder. He leaned out of the way, laughing at her as he walked into the classroom. She entered right behind him, scowl on her face. The light hearted mood had been ruined.

They were almost late, barely having time to sit before class started. The core classes (English, science, etc.) went a lot faster than she expected. She had to basically scribble to keep up with her notes. It would be extra work to re-write them legibly later, but it would help her review. It kept her mind off of that morning.

Lunch rolled around before she knew it, and she followed the rest of the first year students into the mess hall. It almost looked like a mall cafeteria, with how it was all set up. Sakura decided on the cheapest meal of miso soup and fish, with a glass of milk. Holding her tray, she surveyed the room, looking for a place to sit.

She spotted familiar green hair, and made her way over towards Midoriya and the two he was sitting with, the Iida kid and brown-haired girl from yesterday.

"Hey, uh, mind if I sit here?" She was pretty timid, not knowing if the other two would be welcoming. She steeled herself as the attention shifted to her short form. It was the brown-haired girl that answered her. "Hey, yeah, no problem! We're classmates after all. I'm Uraraka Ochako, just call me Ochako!" She seemed very positive, the pale girl liked her smile.

"I'm Iida Tenya, I think I saw you with Midoriya yesterday! A friend of his is a friend of mine." Sakura beamed brightly, glad the other teens were friendly. She placed her tray and sat down beside the green-haired boy. "I'm Mai Sakura, call me Sakura if you want. Pleased to meet you both!"

Her lunch was spent talking, getting to know her classmates, and trying to get her mind off the scene from that morning. Ochako was a good distraction.

"So Mai-chan, what's your quirk? I can make things float, like, give them zero gravity! Iida has engines on his legs, and you saw Deku's crazy quirk yesterday!" The hyperactive girl asked.

Sakura felt a bead of sweat run down her neck. This was where people normally began to think she was weird. She had more than one person say she had the perfect quirk to become a villian, it was just so creepy looking. "O-oh, uhhh, my quirk is Osteal... I can manipulate my skeletal and integumentary structures."

The brown haired girls' eyes went wide. The green eyed nerd sitting next to her whipped out a notebook, writing down her explanation with a fervor. She glanced at the pages and raised her eyebrows, seeing rows and rows of notes on different quirks. The blue eyed teen of the group seemed interested in her explanation as well. Another question from the loud girl across from her snapped her from her observations, "Oh wow! Wait, explain more! What all can you do?"

The boys were paying attention to her, Midoriya in particular. She felt her face flush, but tried not to be embarrassed. "Basically, I have full control over my bones and skin. My body has a high concentration of calcium, and a lack of blood or other fluids. This makes my skin, muscles, and bones harder and heavier than most peoples. I can hollow my bones out and make them more dense, I can extend or retract them, or take them out of my body and grow completely new ones. I can make them almost any shape. It actually took me a few years to study every bone in the human body, but now I can manipulate them all."

"I can use them both defensively and offensively, but one large weakness is I have to take steps to insure I do not cut myself. My muscles contract and move automatically around my skeleton, but my skin doesn't. If I'm not fast enough, I'll injure myself, and because of my low blood volume, I can bleed out easily." Sakura showed them the scars on her palms and fingertips. They were the most prominent, darkest colored scars she had. Most others had faded to a silver, but these were still pink. It was still better than the angry and raw red they used to be.

Urarakas' eyes were focused on the warped tissue while Iida seemed to be sizing her up. Midoriya looked back up to her face after analyzing her scars. "Wow, that's kinda like me then! I can't use my quirk without damaging myself. If you can learn and get better, that gives me hope that I can too! That's amazing Mai-chan!"

Sakura gripped her fist, interrupting the other gazes on her palms. She looked back at the green haired boy, wanting to ask a question that had been on her mind since yesterday. "I know you can, Midoriya-kun! I had no idea you were so strong, why didn't you ever stand up to Katsuki when he used to bully you?! I've seen how rude he is."

He seemed sheepish as he rubbed the back of his head, trying to use his hand to cover a blush (unsuccessfully). "Kacchan and I used to be friends as kids, I guess old habits die hard?"

Noticing his discomfort, Ochako hopped on the topic change, "Speaking of Bakugo! Mai-chan, you came in right after him this morning, and you looked like you had been crying. He didn't do anything did he?!"

The worry pooled in soft brown eyes melted her heart, but the question made Sakura freeze. The blue boy noticed the posture change, and became suspicious. "Mai-chan, if he's bothering you, you can tell us. We'll walk with you more, so he won't be as bold."

Midoriya next to her chimed in, "I agree! If he made you cry, that's not okay!"

Sakura didn't know what to do with all the eyes on her. She thought about what happened this morning and felt like crying all over again. This is exactly what she didn't want to talk about.

She was so selfish. Katsuki saved her, and here they were, thinking he was the bad guy. She dropped her sunflower eyes and huffed. Might as well tell them the truth, so they'd stop thinking he was such a bad person... even if she would look weak in the process.

"Actually... he saved me this morning." The three friends deadpanned, not one of them believed the blushing girl. Except for maybe Midoriya.

"We've actually been neighbors for years, so we take the same route to school. We normally just ignore each other, but something happened on the subway this morning." Her hands started shaking again, so she hid them in her sleeves. She trained honey eyes on her now empty tray, not wanting to watch their reactions as she told the next part. "It was really, really crowded. I could barely move or see around anybody. I felt something... touch me, but I thought it was an accident."

Sakura's classmates had uncomfortable and shocked expressions. Everyone had been made aware of such situations, but most were lucky to not experience them firsthand. "I tried to move away, but he grabbed me and held me against him. There were so many people around, I could barely lift my arms, let alone fight. I was too scared and shocked to scream. I was afraid f I used my quirk, I would hurt someone. That's when Katsuki came out of nowhere and grabbed his wrist, as he threatened to snap his neck."

The three teens were quietly worried as they listened, but once they all heard that part, they sweatdropped in unison. She could pretty much read their minds as they all thought, 'Yep, that's Bakugo all right'. She ignored their reactions and finished, eyes misty. "He made sure I got to school safe!"

Midoriya was the first to speak up after her story. "Wow... you were lucky he was there."

She smiled, her pearly teeth shining, a light blush colored her cheeks. "I know. I thanked him. Hopefully I won't be so weak in the future. He's not really a bad guy, he just has an attitude problem."

Iida scoffed at that, sitting straight in his seat. "Tsk, it's more than a problem!"

They all laughed as Iida continued ranting about Katsuki and other unruly students, arms robo-chopping the air. Lunch soon ended, and they headed back to the classroom to start their next class, Hero Basic Training.

All Might marched in after everyone was seated, much to Sakura's surprise, his cape flourishing dramatically behind him. She hadn't expected to actually be a student to him! The entire class was in disbelief. His booming voice demanded their attention. "Welcome to Hero Basics 101! This is the most helpful class for ANY future hero! Let get into it, today's lesson will pull no punches!!"

The class immediately bursts into whispers. "Battle training!?" and "We're gonna be fighting?" was all Sakura could hear.

"Geeeeet dressed kiddos!" A row of lockers extended from the wall right next to her, making her jump out of her skin. "These are your costumes, to the exact specificities you sent the design team! When you're suited up, meet me at Training Ground Beta!"

After of chorus of "Yes Sensei!", the class lined up and grabbed their numbered case. Since she was closest, Sakura got hers first and dashed to the locker rooms. She couldn't wait to see how it fit!!

It was pretty revealing at first glance, she noticed when she slipped it on. The void black fabric of her shorts constrasted against her cloud white skin, they were slightly baggy and brushed against her thighs.

Suspenders of the same dark fabric kept them from slipping down her hips, the clasps connecting them had a cute skull and crossbones design. They matched a charm on the black hair band she used to pull her snowy bangs from her face. Her modest sized chest was covered with black bandages. Made from same carbon fiber and metal alloy their senseis' capture weapon was made of, but without the same capture capabilities. After she had heard Aizawa explain its material she had sent in an ammendment to her costume description. That was pretty much it for her outfit, she didn't even have shoes.

Sakura was positive they only allowed such skimpy clothes because she could create bone armour to cover a lot of her other exposed areas. Not a full bodysuit sadly, not _yet. _What she could manage so far was a sparkling white plate from her collarbones to the top of her bandages, shoulder and knee pads, along with forearm and shin bracers. The palms and backs of her hands had the same platings, along with her sock-like pair of shoes.

Her back was mostly bare, except for the exoskeleton shoulder blades and spine. She would lose mobility if she wore too many armored plates.

Sakura's "spine" was actually a duplicate she created on top of her real one, she could use her fake spine like a whip to surprise her opponent, or extend it down to act as a tail.

Her upper thighs and arms were bare, along with most of her stomach. She had two more armour plates hugging her hips under her shorts, but you could barely see them peaking out above the waistline.

Last but not least, her favorite part of her costume, was the pair of dangerous looking ram horns she grew from her forehead. The small skull and crossbones charm from her headband laid over her third eye, swinging side to side as she walked, making a pleasant little clinking sound as it tapped against her horns.

The whiteness of her skin was milky and supple looking next to the brilliant smooth shine of her armour. Only her fellow pupils at Akihikos' dojo and Katsuki really knew how hard her supple flesh actually felt, both to hit and be hit by. Most blades couldn't even pierce her tough skin, although she supposed a well-made blade in the hands of someone skilled would probably do damage.

The entire class was admiring each other's costumes, and Sakura actually got a lot of compliments. There was a pink-skinned girl with horns that didn't seem too pleased with her foreheads' addition, but denied Sakura's offer to remove them. A group of boys were drooling as they watched the girls exit their locker rooms, impressed by their female counterparts. They were all pretty fit students, so Sakura was sure there was something to admire, but they were only like 15!

Sakura tried to stifle her giggle when she saw Katsukis' costume, but wasn't very successful. His head piece reminded her of fish fins, and she couldn't get the image out of her mind. Midoriyas' costume was adorable too, his bunny ears matched his normally timid nature.

She actually liked a girl named Yaoyorozu's costume the most out of the class, and the black haired girl had been delighted to hear so. "I love yours too! Is that armour... your quirk?"

The much paler girl blushed and nodded. The other girl hummed, "Can I see how it feels?"

Surprised at the request, Sakura held out her plated forearm and waited as the much taller girl inspected her exoskeleton. This is the first time anyone had wanted to get so close, and she didn't even seem all that grossed out. "Err... I can show you more?"

The black haired girl looked up curiously before nodding her agreement. They started walking to the training ground as she began her warning. "Yaoyorozu-chan, this might be gross, so brace yourself."

She grabbed her arm and peeled the skin back from the edge of her bone bracer, almost like a snake shedding its skin. It exposed her muscle, and how the bone extended through the fibers to create her outer defense. The curious teen looked a little green, but still got up close. "That's... really interesting actually. So... those scars on your hand... if you aren't careful, you'll injure yourself from what I can assume? It almost seems like you have two quirks Mai-chan, you can control two entirely different body systems! Can I ask what your parents quirks are?! That's an insane combo, I can't imagine where it came from."

The white haired girl hesitated in her step, almost tripping herself. She didn't want her class to look at her any differently, once they found out she was an orphan. More importantly, she didn't want her class to ever find out about how she managed to become "adopted". They would laugh at her for wanting to become a hero, considering her past. But honesty was the best policy, and maybe they wouldn't go digging if she didn't seem like she was hiding anything. She could just skirt around the topics she didn't wanna talk about. That works. "Well, don't feel awkward for asking, but I don't know. I've never met my parents."

It was Yaoyorozu's turn to trip this time, but Sakura continued before the girl could recover from the whiplash. "I've been fostered with my current family since I was 5, they're a great couple! I consider them my parents. My dad has super strength, and my mom can turn her body into invisible air particles!" She took a glance at her new friend, making jazz hands as she described her moms ability. "It's pretty cool, I think. She turns into this sparkly dust cloud."

Her mini rant gave the black-haired girl enough time to compose herself. Most people reacted with pity, and Sakura didn't want anyone's pity. "I see, sorry for my thoughtlessness. It's an amazing quirk, nonetheless!"

The two teens reached the meeting point only just as All Might began instruction. "Clothes make the pros, ladies and gentlemen, and you are the proof! You are now heros in training! And you all look so GOOD! Let's get started, you bunch of NEWBIES!"

"It's time for COMBAT TRAINING!" He flexed a steroided, bulking bicep at them. "Most of the villian fights that make it onto the news are outdoors, where cameras can easily capture the scene. But in reality, most fights will be IN-doors! This battle exercise will give you an idea of what you'll really be up against. Backroom deals, home invasions, secret lairs! Truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows. You'll be split up into teams of two with one team of three, and verse each other in mock battles: heros versus villians! You're dealing with actual people and infrastructure now, so no unnecessary force is allowed."

The class started panicking and a hoard of questions was shot at the bulky pro, "How much can we hurt the other team?!", (of course, Bakugo). "Are we being paired up according to skill?" "Are we going to be expelled if we fail?!", (a legitimate concern, considering their homeroom teachers' little stunt).

All Might seemed overwhelmed with the the third degree he was getting, "I wasn't finished talking! Be patient and let me explain. Here's the situation: The villians are hiding a weapon in their hideout! A team of heros has been dispatched to find the weapon. The bad guys have to embody villians, to either catch the heros or run out the time limit of 15 minutes! The heros have to either subdue the villians or "capture" the weapon before time runs out! You'll be given radios to communicate with your team members, and capture tape, for self explanatory reasons. I'm choosing teams by drawing names, so, get ready!"

He picked teams out and labeled them 'hero' or 'villian'. Sakura ended up on a team with a blonde boy with a tail and an invisible girl as villians. Up first was Uraraka and Midorya as heros against Iida and Katsuki.

The hot-headed teenager seemed itching to take down Midoriya. She caught the green haired boy before he left to the battle building, trying to infuse confidence into their connected hands,"Hey Midoriya-kun, good luck! Don't let Katsuki get to you!"

Her beaming grin made him give his own determined smile in return, "I'll do my best Mai-chan!"

He and Uraraka waited outside the building, and the match was started after they were given a brief planning period. I stood with my new teammates as we watched what was going down on the screen.

When Katsuki immediately left Iida to track down their opponents, Sakura slapped a pale hand against her cheek. '_What an idiot...'_

At least the hero team was getting along, but they eventually had to split up when Katsuki found them. Uraraka went ahead, leaving Midoriya to face his childhood friend. He was on the run, trying to give Uraraka time to reach the weapon while he distracted the member of the enemy team. He held his own rather well, considering he couldnt really use his quirk. The two teens were arguing, but the observing class couldn't hear any of the words exchanged. The smaller boy in green didn't seem to have a real chance against someone as versatile as Bakugo.

After a trade of moves that basically destroyed the building, and almost caused Midoriya to become vaporized by a certain someone's grenade bracers, Uraraka was able to take advantage of the opening to improvise an attack that let her land on top of the bomb. She won the match for her team. The brown-haired girl slid down the large prop, emptying her stomach when she hit the floor. Her male counterpart was down for the count too, both of his arms were pretty damaged in his desperate attempt to win. Sakura recognized the fact they would have lost, had Ochako been any less prepared. The enemy team was basically unscathed after all.

Not mentioning the fact Midoriya basically turned half the building to rubble with one punch. What happened to not damaging the infrastructure?

The two teams (minus Midoriya) came back to where the class was gathered, where they analyzed everyone's performance. Surprisingly, Iida was the MVP of his battle, even if he technically did the least amount of work. Her new friend Yaoyorozu had described the battle perfectly, impressing the whole class with her observation skills.

Sakura's match was next. It was her team of three against Todoroki Shoto and Mezo Shoji. Her male teammate, Mashirao Ojiro, was stretching while her invisible teammate Hagakure Toru took her clothes off to become completely invisible. "So, Mashirao-san, Hagakure-san, let's describe our quirks so we know what we're all capable of!"

She gave her usual short and concise description of Osteal. The tall blonde next to her blushed. His eyes were trying to avoid the attractive pale girl in front of him while his mind tried to ignore the naked girl (invisible, but still) next to him. It was obviously a large mental struggle for him. "Err, just call me Ojiro. basically, I just have a tail."

A disembodied voice sounded from right beside her, making Sakura jump. "Call me Toru then! And I'm completely invisible. Seems like you might have to do most of the fighting this round, while we play support. Those guys looked seriously scary!"

Sakura nodded, pale hair tickling her shoulders. She grinned at the friendliness of her classmates, they were already becoming really familiar with each other. "Then you guys can call me Sakura, unless Mai is easier for you. I know how to fight, but try not to get too close, I often use my quirk as an extension of my body. Keep in mind we don't really know our enemies abilities."

Ojiro put his hand to his chin, looking thoughtful. "That tall dude had six arms, that's about all I know. But that other dudes' costume had ice on it, so we can assume he uses ice right?"

After exchanging everything they noticed about the other team, they planned. Toru would make her way to the entrance of their floor, which was at the very top. She would wait until the enemy arrived to follow them in, hopefully taking one of them from behind while Sakura and Ojiro took the other. It was a solid plan.

But then the start buzzer sounded. It was quiet for a few moments, and the pale girl had a ball of foreboding in her stomach, before everything suddenly became freezing cold. Ice exploded from the doors, freezing her teammate and herself in place. She could assume Toru was frozen down the hall as well, and flinched at the unpleasant thought of having her bare skin against this cold ice. Toru must be in pain.

It took her a longer than expected to break herself out, extending her spine like a tail to help her blonde classmates free at the same time. They would have to forget Toru for now, the enemy was on the attack.

Ojiro and Sakura heard the footsteps coming all the way from down the hallway. Only one pair of taps, that she could tell. The pale girl put a finger to her lips, signaling for the taller teen to remain quiet. He nodded and hid behind a pillar as she quietly slipped her way to the door, trying not to fall on the icy smooth surface. The golden eyed girl readied a staff, making the density heavier than usual. Their opponent was strong, if they could freeze an entire building like this, she could probably use the extra _oomph_.

She got there barely in time as it flung open. Her opponent was hidden by the door until he took a few steps forward, entering the room. He was half covered in ice, his left half having hair that rivaled the whiteness of her own. His whole left half was covered in ice, with a glowing red eye. It was a pretty cool hero costume, she had to admit. This must be Todoroki.

Sakura held her breath, until she saw her chance. His head turned left, away from her position, and she lept at him. His quick reflexes allowed him to bring up a shield of ice, but it was crushed under her staff.

He slid back a few feet, but Sakura kept on him, swinging her improvised tail in front of him when he tilted his body to face the weapon, intending to make a dash for it. She wouldn't let him touch it that easily. One touch and she would be frozen solid, no doubt.

Ojiro attacked from above while the split haired boy was paused, but didn't even get a hit in. Their opponent barely slid his foot, and suddenly her teammate was frozen in place, unable to break out this time without her assistance. Sakura scoffed. "That's a pretty neat trick you got there!"

She dashed for him again, exoskeleton shoes skating and scraping against the ground. He started to slide his right foot forward, and yellow eyes deciphered the attack. She lept into the air, twirling to attack with both her spine tail and staff as she fell towards him. She saw victory within reach, and time around her slowed.

But she was still falling fast. When the ice pillar shot from the ground and encased her, she had no way to dodge. The wind was knocked clean out of her. She couldn't do anything but wheeze for breath and watch as her enemy walked towards the weapon, landing his palm on it.

A voice boomed from their earpieces, "HERO TEAM WINS!!"

The palm on the prop weapon started to radiate a heat that melted all the remaining ice. Sakura was sweating from the intense temperature, and she was sure her feet would have been burning if they weren't protected. She landed on her heels as the pillar holding her up finally gave out under her struggles, hopping back and forth so the direct heat wouldn't crack her shoe. "You have two quirks?! That's so cool, Todoroki-kun. You're pretty good, huh?"

The taller kid looked back at her, his voice was deep and monotone. "It's not your fault you lost.. we're just playing on different levels."

The look on his face was blank, totally apathetic. He turned and stalked off. She rolled her eyes at his rudeness, sticking her tongue out at his back before helping Ojiro up and joining Toru to walk back to the class together. Toru explained how she had been frozen in place, unable to free herself alone, and they explained how they had lost the match.

"Don't worry you two, if he could beat all three of us single handedly, I don't feel like we had much of a chance to begin with!" She cheered.

The positive girls' observation didn't make Sakura feel any better, though. While she had technically done the most work, she knows she could have done better. Or... maybe Todoroki was really just that overpowered? He had ice _and _heat after all, and he only used one against them. And from a rumor that was already circulating, he was the son of some really important hero. He's probably had quirk training since birth.

Their match analysis was easy. Todoroki was obviously MVP, he was able to dispatch every villian and touch the weapon within minutes, with some help of his teammates sensitive hearing. The other matches passed quickly, with Sakura paying close attention to how her classmates utilized their quirks. There were a lot of interesting powers in her class, and she had to admit she didn't know how she matched up.

All Might blew a whistle when everyone was done. "SUPER work newbies! We didn't have any major injuries, except for Midoriya. You should be proud! Wonderful first day of training! Head on out whenever you're ready, but first, watch a pro exit... LIKE HE'S GOT SOMEWHERE TO BE!"

The hulking man disappeared from view, leaving his students in the dust to return to the locker rooms on their own volition. The encouraging words were welcomed after their homeroom teachers' repeated discouragements. _'I like this class much better than Aizawa-senseis.'_

The class changed and made their way back to homeroom as a group. Sakura noticed as Katsuki broke off from the rest, but didn't say anything. He seemed upset at his loss, and she wasn't about to volunteer to be the one he took his anger out on. Midoriya came back to class for a moment, but left before she got the chance to greet him. Iida told her he was going to track the blonde boy down. Hopefully they'll talk it out, but she had doubts.

Sakura spent the rest of the period chatting with Toru, the girl was really pleasant to be around. The invisible girl asked her why she had come in looking upset that morning, just as Ochako asked earlier, and she repeated the story. Her audience grew as she spoke, and by the time the bell rang pretty much everyone in class heard of Katsukis' heroic deed. She didn't cry this time, talking about it actually made it easier.

Katsuki would be annoyed that she told everybody, but she didn't care.

The commute home was much more peaceful than that mornings. The house was quiet when she arrived, both parents busy with their business once again. After she had a light snack, Sakura got dressed in a pair of knee-length shorts and a tank top. Throwing on a hoodie as she grabbed her gym bag, she made her way to her second home, Akihikos' dojo.

When she arrived, she switched into her white tennis shoes and started wrapping her hands, throwing her bag and belongings against the wall.

The light was dim, turning her normally sunny yellow eyes into an orange-apricot color. Akihiko-sensei was meditating in the loft above her, floating around the rafters (his quirk was levitation, but he could only levitate himself, and only while meditating). Chirako and Izuna were sparring as Keisuke lazed off on the side, watching. Not for long though, now that Sakura was there they'd probably end up training together.

The blonde teen groaned when he saw her take her place on the workout mat in front of him. "Sakura-chaaaaan! I was hoping you wouldn't come in today."

The pale girl glared at the taller tan teen and tried not to take any offense to his whining. This was normal Keisuke. He had buzzed hair, and wore a nose plug, to help him contain his quirk (hyper-smell). The sweaty dojo was probably hell on his senses. Grey eyes pleaded to her, hoping she would just let him be lazy. Sakura threw him an evil smirk, her best one (she had taken notes on Katsukis' and practiced in the mirror one night). "Kei-kun, you'd proabably be a lot better if you actually tried. I won't make you train with me, but don't be surprised when I put you on your ass next time."

That always got the 19 year old on his feet. The two younger pupils started working on timing drills, while the older two next to them were throwing punches and kicks at a rapid pace.

Izunas' long black hair trailed behind him as he thrusted forward in a strike. His ponytail was the longest she ever saw on a man, Sakura loved to braid it for him, but he rarely allowed her. The tall man was the oldest of the four at 27, also the most experienced and talented. The tall man would probably take over the dojo for Akihiko whenever he kicked the bucket, but hopefully, that wouldn't be anytime soon. He was actually the only quirkless person Sakura had personally known. She looked up to him for finding another way of being strong.

His angular face and black beady eyes were focused on his fight with Chirako. Chirako was 22, but still looked like a high schooler, with brown hair and boyish features. His quirk was pop, he could create flashy fireworks from his fingertips. The lithe man was a lady killer, often bragging about recent dates he had been on, and all the women he played. He was slightly perverted, but never towards Sakura. They saw each other more like siblings, so that would just be weird.

Sakura rarely fought against either of her two oldest senpai, they were on a whole other level from her and Keisuke. They normally came in together for training, it was rare one was here without the other. She and Keisuke didn't have an open schedule like them, both still being students in school, they just came whenever they could.

Timing drills eventually gave way into an electric spar, the teens trading blocks and blows with a fervor. Occasionally one of them landed a throw or tried to get into a grapple, but the flow of punches and kicks didn't stop.

Keisuke was in a normal high school, studying to be a physical therapist. He had a passion for exercise, but he was too lazy to be a personal trainer, so he chose the next best option. Izuna and Chirako actually worked together at some popular hero company as receptionists and record keepers. Keisuke had also told her Izuna had also done some modeling on the side, but she wasn't sure if that was true.

"If you wanna fight then you have to FOCUS Sakura!" A punch to her cheek sent her to the ground. She held up a 'T' with her hands, calling a time-out to recover from the skull-rattling blow.

"That was a good one, Kei-kun. Give me a second!" Sakura held her head in her hands, trying to stop the spinning. The spar on the mat next to them came to a finish at about the same time, all four of them huffing and stretching. Chirako was still smiling, like always, despite his exhaustion. "Wow Izu, what has you mad today? You were ruthless!"

His more serious counterpart rolled his eyes, retying his long hair. "Sorry Chi.. Angelica has been difficult this week."

Angelica was Izunas' American girlfriend, a model that moved here a year ago. He had started dating her recently, but things already seemed to be stressing the quiet man out. Relationships weren't normally his thing. Sakura trained her eyes on the olive skinned adult standing above her.

"Get her flowers or candy, Izu-senpai. Or something pretty she can post on Instagram. Girls like that stuff!" She commented breathlessly as she laid back on the cushioned mat. Chirako cackled at her suggestion. "Yoroi Izuna, buying a girl flowers?! Maybe if she died!"

His laughter was cut sort by a slap to the back of his head. The giant man had low tolerance for Chirako's jokes.

Keisuke was stretching behind her, groaning at the pull of his muscles."You guys wanna go grab some soba? I'm starving!"

Sakura rounded to face him, rather offended. "What?? Kei-kun you ALWAYS ditch me! Finish training with me for once!"

The blonde teen put his hand over her pale face, shoving her head back. "Brat, train on your own! I'm always here earlier than you, that's why I leave earlier. Maybe get here on time for once!"

Apricot eyes glared as his back as he walked towards the locker room. "Whenever I get here you're never even doing anything! You lazy ass!" Izuna and Chirako followed behind him, chucking and waving her a goodbye.

Izunas' baritone voice made her pout disappear, "Sorry Sakura-chan, we'll all go out to eat soon to celebrate your acceptance into UA. I'll have Chirako text you later, we'll set something up."

She grinned, mood instantly improving. Sakura flipped up and out of her seated position, looking up at Akihiko, who was still meditating above her. His occasional giggle made her wonder what he was thinking about. She glanced out the window, noticing how dark it had gotten, before heading to the woman's locker room.

After cleaning the workout mats and saying goodbye to her sensei, Sakura went home.

Katsuki was sitting on his front step, smoking a cig he stole from his dad, drinking a can of peach juice. It had been an emotional day for him, and he just wanted to relax. It was dark out, his parents had already retired for the night, and he wanted some peace. The menthol taste calmed his racing mind, cherry eyes followed whisps of smoke trails until they disintegrated.

He noticed his pale neighbor walking down the opposite sidewalk, looking exhausted, a dark gym bag slung across her back. Not wanting to get caught, he flung his cigarette butt to the side and made his way back inside. She glanced his way as he closed the door, but didn't say anything as she tried to enter her own home. He watched from his bedroom window as her pale hands searched through her pockets and bag, probably looking for the key.

She walked through her backyard fence, only to reappear moments later, looking frustrated. The pale girl sat on her steps, using her gym bag as a cushion for her back. The klutz forgot her keys.

Katsuki would be lying if he said he didn't stay up a while longer to check on her, just to make sure she got inside safe. He doesn't know why he worries about her so much.

Her parents arrived an hour later, waking the dozing girl on their stoop. He was thankful he didn't have to invite her inside or anything, another half hour and he would've started worrying. It was getting pretty cold out.

He thought about that morning, about the man that held Sakura against him. She was lucky honestly, he wouldn't have noticed anything was amiss if her shirt button hadn't popped off and rolled against his shoe. As soon as he recognized the uniform button, a feeling of dread pooled in his stomach.

When he pushed through the crowd and saw that perverts hand on her stomach, belly exposed and watery honey eyes, he saw red. He pulled her towards him, protecting her as much as she could with his arms in the confined space. The mans wrist he held was creaking, threatening to snap. It must have been painful. He definitely would have broken something in that filths' body if his classmate hadn't dragged him away.

When he saw actual tears escaping her shiny golden eyes, Katsuki felt something in his heart break. The instinct he acted on became something more, became something he _wanted_ to do. He wanted to make sure this girl never got hurt again.

The thought made him angry for some reason, like most things did. He didn't understand the way she managed to piss him off and make him worried for her wellbeing at the same time. As kids, she was always covered in bandages, and was annoyingly shy. He thought she was just weak, but in reality, she was training. How did he miss it?

His lack of observation skills made him want to punch himself in the face. He should have noticed how strong she was getting. He failed to notice when she started walking home exhausted with that gym bag slung across her back.

Katsuki didn't know what to do with all the things Sakura made him feel, so he shoved it all to the back of his mind. He didn't understand it, and probably wouldn't anytime soon.


	6. Numb Skull

_The train was empty. Sakura was standing, holding onto a metal pole as the car rocked methodically back and forth. She couldn't remember where she was going, her mind was fuzzy. _

_The pale girl looked down, just now noticing she was in her school uniform. Was she headed to school? Her backpack was discarded on the floor next to her. Not wanting it to get dirty, she bent at the waist to pick it up. _

_She had, apparently, been mistaken when she thought the car was empty. She felt something bump against her behind, and a hand grabbed her hip. _

_Immediately standing straight, Sakura's back hit something solid. Looking over her left shoulder, she saw ash blonde hair and a pair of cherry red eyes. Katsuki was behind her, muscular chest flush against her back. Sakura's face felt searing hot, she could see how red her cheeks and nose were from the bottom of her eyes. Her heart felt like it was about to burst through her rib cage. _

_A throaty chuckle tickled her ear. The pale girl felt a warmth pool in her stomach at his rumbling voice. She tried to remember to breathe, but when she tried, she could only smell sweet burnt caramel. It made her head swim. "Sakura-chan, why don't you call for help?" _

_A hand snaked over her stomach, making the frozen girl nearly jump out of her skin. The taller teen laid his head on her shoulder, blonde hair tickling her face and neck. The butterflies in her belly were making her nauseous, and her mind was growing more and more clouded. _

_"Sakura~, if you want me to stop, just say stop." The gravelly voice sent shivers down her spine. The hand resting on her stomach popped open her shirt button, her heart beat faster as he slid his cold fingers inside to rest against her pale stomach. Goosebumps erupted on white flesh- _

_"_STOP!"

Sakura was panting when she awoke from her dream. Some white hair was stuck to her red cheek, drool crusted the corner of her mouth.

Rubbing the sleep from her honey eyes, she slipped from bed and into her bathroom, trying to shake the dream from her mind. She showered, washed her face, and brushed her teeth, before pulling her locks into a short ponytail. Her uniform came next, her shirt with a freshly sewed button.

As she ate breakfast, she tried to unwind the knot of embarrassment in her chest. How was she going to look at him after a dream like that?!

She knew the theory, that dreams were just how your brain processed information. But why would she dream about _Katsuki_ like _that_? Her face flushed again. '_I really need to get it together...' _

As normal, Katsuki and Sakura left their residences at about the same time. The blonde seemed more relaxed today. They walked on either side of the street, keeping their distance until the subway entrance came into view. There were a plethora of seats open this time, thankfully. Maybe there was some kind of event yesterday that had so many people taking their train? She chose a seat at random and put her shoolbag on the chair next to her.

Katsuki, instead of pushing past her like normal, placed his school bag on the same seat as hers and sat on the other side. There was a man on a business call sitting across from them, and a group of middle schoolers on the other side of the car. It was a pretty noisy, but the two were quiet. Her mind wondered to her dream that morning, and she tried to hold back a blush from decorating her features.

The silence between them felt a tad too awkward. Sakura felt like she should speak, but didn't know what to say, so she stayed quiet. They continued their commute in silence, up until they reached the campus gates. "Hey, what's with all these flies?"

There was a rather large crowd blocking the entrance, some hold cameras, others holding microphones. The two teens watched as the paparazzi harassed students and teachers alike. Sakura answered him. "They look like paparazzi. Probably after All Might and his students?"

The boy next to her scoffed, already annoyed with their predicament. His voice sounded groggy as he mumbled, "Stay close and just ignore them."

Sakura merely nodded and held her backpack straps. As they approached, the crowd parted, before shoving microphones and recorders in their faces. Camera flashes blurred her vision while they asked a plethora of questions about All Might and his new teaching gig.

Katsuki grabbed a pale wrist to drag her along when a particularly determined woman with brown hair tried to block her path. His usual scowl had taken its place (she hadn't even noticed it was missing) as he growled at the crowding cameras, screaming "Fuck OFF, you bunch of extras!"

She snickered at the shocked faces of the crowd. His warm hand didn't stop pulling her wrist along until they reached the classroom, where he had to use both hands to open the gigantic door. They walked in together, Katsuki taking his seat while Sakura went to talk with Toru and a pink haired girl named Ashido Mina.

She was the same girl who hadn't been excited about the use of horns in Sakuras' costume. She had a small pair of curved yellow horns, they were really unique. Thankfully, Mina didn't hold it against her. It seemed like everybody in this class really wanted to get along, they were all so friendly.

Other than a certain blonde, of course.

Class started and they took their assigned seats, Katsuki taking his place behind her. Aizawa started the class by talking about how they did on the combat training the previous day.

His tired eyes landed on the boy behind her, "Bakugo, you first. You're talented. So don't sulk about your loss, alright?" She looked over her shoulder at the blushing boy. Sakura tried holding back her giggle, but he must have heard her efforts, because he kicked the back over her chair forcefully enough for her stomach to squish against her desk painfully. '_The one downside of comfy rolling chairs._' She thought as she rubbed her ribs.

She listened to her teachers' critiques, trying not to doze off. Soon enough, it was her turn. "Mai. You know how to fight, but I don't think you're using your quirk to it's fullest potential. Try to get a bit more creative."

Sakura sulked at his words. She thought she did pretty well. Hearing a snicker from behind, sbe swiveled her head to glare at the blonde behind her, flipping him off behind her back so sensei couldn't see. That only made him cackle louder at her and say, "Snow White's got some bite!"

Her blush faded as the rest of the students heard their analysis. Aizawa sighed in relief, seemingly glad to finally stop talking. "All right guys, time to pick class representatives. I don't care how you choose, just have two people picked out before I wake up from my nap."

Their teacher curled into a sleeping bag as the class started bickering. Everyone wanted to be class rep, there were actually a lot of perks that came with the title. Sakura didn't care for it much, she wasn't really a leader. Eventually, they all agreed on holding a vote.

Izuku ended up being first, with three votes. Much to her dismay, Sakura was tied in second with Yaoyorozu. The class had them play a game of Rock Paper Scissors to decide who won the position, and Sakura won with rock.

She didn't want the position. In fact, she had even voted for her black-haired friend. Katsuki looked like he was seething, he had only gotten one vote, probably his own. Sensei finaly woke up from his short rest, checking out the results they had written on the board. "All right, Midoriya is class rep, and Mai is the deputy."

Both of us were shaking while we stood in front of the class, not used to so much attention. Sakura glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and sighed. "At least we're in this together."

He nodded in agreement, sweat running down his temple.

Lunch came before she realized, and this time she sat with a group of girls from her class. Tsuyu was so funny, Sakura laughed at almost everything the frog girl said. Toru, Mina, Jiro, and Yaoyorozu were there too, the latter of which decided to have them all call her Momo, since her name was so long. Ochako was missing, probably eating with Midoriya and Iida. She took calcium supplements as she ate, confident it would help her in hero training after lunch.

They had been chatting about election results, her classmates congratulated her on her new position. Toru seemed more excited for her than she did for herself. "Sakura~chan! What do you mean you didn't want the position?! Hero agencies will be all _over _you now!"

Sakura scoffed, glancing to the side. She tried to hold back her blush, but it just wasn't possible. "I don't know, it just doesn't appeal to me I guess. I even voted for Momo-chan, so it's ironic that-"

She was cut off by a blaring siren and an evacuation announcement. The girls looked around the cafeteria with panicked eyes as students started to crowd the exits, pushing and shoving chaotically. Nobody knew what was going on. Momo held onto her scarred hand tightly, trying their best to avoid collisions as they made their way toward the exit.

They were pushed with a rush of students, and the girls were scattered away from each other. Momo's hand was ripped from Sakura's, and she immediately lost sight of her taller friend. Deciding to just go with the flow, she hardened her skin as much as she could to avoid bruises. Sadly, her head was a little above waist-height for most people, so she couldn't see a thing except for all the joints flying at her face.

Sakuras' sensitive ears heard Ochako cry out, and she reached on her toes, trying to catch a glimpse of _anything_. Bad idea. Distracted by the cry for help, she didn't see the elbow until it was right in front of her eye. The blow to her face knocked her off balance, and the pushing crowd shoved her to the ground. Was this really how she was going to die? Getting trampled by her idiot classmates?

Thankfully, a familiar redhead was nearby. As soon as he spotted the pale girl curled up on the ground, he barreled his way to her. He scooped her up bridal style, and she lightened her density to make it easier for him, immediately thankful. "Thank you Kiri-kun!"

If he blushed at the nickname, Sakura pretended not to notice. Soon, Iida's voice carried over the crowd, and police sirens could be heard outside. "EVERYBODY! CALM DOWN! IT'S JUST THE MEDIA!"

Everyone paused to check the windows, only to see the situation being dealt with. Kirishima carried her until there was enough room for her to be let down lightly on her feet. They were both blushing, situation quickly turning awkward. Sakura was just glad she shaved her legs the previous night.

It was still pretty crowded, so he kept his hand on her lower back, just in case anything else happened before they were freed. He glanced at her, face still red. "You got really light after I picked you up, how did you do that?"

Sakura glanced up at him, a shaky smile on her face. She put a hand to her cheek in embarrassment, trying to hide her flush. No boy has ever held her before, let alone like _that. _Thinking about it, she's never even hugged a dude her age, Keisuke didn't count. "I can hollow my bones out... um, like a bird, you know?"

He grinned at her, asking more questions she was happy to answer. Just as they were making it out of the crowd, familiar cherry red eyes met her sunflower yellow. She saw his gaze flicker to her side and narrow at Kirishima, the red head still talking exuberantly. Before she had a chance to say anything, he turned and left.

Kirishima's hand left her back, and they walked to class together. Before they entered, Sakura realized she hadn't even thanked him for helping her. "Uh, Kiri-kun, I hope you don't mind your nickname? Thanks for saving me twice. Now I really do owe you."

She was blushing profusely when he opened the door for them both. He chuckled at her shyness. "It's really no problem, Sakura-chan. And I don't mind the nickname!"

He went to his seat as Izuku and Sakura took their place at the front of the room as class representatives. They were supposed to vote on a few more class officers now, but Midoriya had other plans. "Err... before I start, I wanna say something. I think Iida Tenya should be our class rep instead! He does a great job at leading everybody, and he calmed down half the school earlier when everyone was panicking. He's a true leader, and I want to give him my position."

I looked at him in shock, before glancing at our annoyed-looking teacher. "Wait, wait, wait, if we're allowed to do that, I want to give my position to Yaoyorozu! She would do a much better job than I could, I didn't even want the position like she did."

Aizawa sighed, looking at the class in front of him. "I don't _care _just hurry it up."

Imaginary weight now lifted from my shoulders, I took my seat in front of Katsuki, who was glaring holes into the back of my head. Finally, class started. After deciding the other class officers, their teacher took his place at the podium, and Aizawa's tired voice carried over them.

"Today, I'll have two instructors helping me. We're going to start rescue training." Excited whispers broke out, interrupting his instruction. "Calm down already, let me explain. We're going to be working with natural disasters. I know you're excited about costumes, but keep in mind they might limit your abilities. We're going to be taking a bus to an off-campus facility, get ready and meet me at the busses in fifteen minutes. If you're late, we're leaving you behind."

Sakura grabbed her costume quickly since she was closest, and hurried to change. When they were done, she walked to the bus with Yaoyorozu and Ashido, her white armour glistening in the sun. The calcium supplements he took at lunch meant she should be able to use her quirk more than usual in training today, and her bones were more lustrous looking than their usual dull ivory. Iida loaded them all onto the bus, and they headed to the training facility.

The class was led into a gigantic dome. There were areas split off from each other, each with a different disaster theme. Sakura spotted a shipwreck in a pool of water and shivered, hoping she wouldn't get stuck swimming. She could swim, she just really sucked at it. The pro hero Thirteen greeted them.

The pale girl tried to tell if they were a man or woman as the space hero explained their exercise. "I created this training facility, USJ, to help train your rescue abilities! Our other instructor is running late, so we'll get started right after I explain a few things! He'll be here later. Im Thirteen, the Space Hero! I'm sure you're all aware I have a powerful quirk. It's called black hole, I can suck up anything and turn it to dust. I can use it to help mitigate the damage of a natural disaster, or eliminate it completely. But it can also easily be used to kill. Some of you have powers that can also be dangerous."

The students around her suddenly became serious, understanding what their instructor was trying to explain. Sakura started sweating, staring at the floor in front of her. She knew _exactly _what Thirteen was trying to teach them.

She brought her right hand up, eyeing the warped pink tissue on her palm. Thirteen droned on, but she felt out of it.

She had already killed someone. She had a dangerous quirk, one that could easily hurt herself and others if she wasn't careful.

All she could see for a second was bulging eyes and grotesque muscles looming over her, blood spilling down a spear and onto her small body. Her palm twitched in a phantom ache, bringing her back from her flashback.

A cold poke to her side made her flinch violently, not expecting the sudden contact on her exposed skin. The downside of a revealing costume. Todoroki was next to her, raising an eyebrow. Sakura had gone even more white than usual, a chalk white instead of her usual pearly glow, but regained a healthy red color after boy had caught her zoning out. She turned back to the instructor, trying to shake the static that still filled her head and the tingling from her palm.

She didn't have flashbacks very often, but when she did, they made her a little disoriented. Thirteens' androgynous voice faded off as she finished her lecture, and the excitement in the room exploded once again. Sakura was heavily disappointed, she had missed most of the instruction. Maybe someone would be kind enough to inform her. "Let's get started!"

The lights in the dome flickered ominously, and Sakura felt a shiver of anxiety shoot through her spine. Before they could be divided into groups, a swirling mass of purple particles opened from the center of the arena. Everyone stared, confused. Was this part of training?

When Aizawa's eyes went wide, Sakura knew that this wasn't part of the lesson plan. "Kids! Stay together and don't move! Thirteen, protect the students!"

She felt her soul drain from her body as she watched villian after villian walk through the purple hazy portal. Her stomach dropped when she saw the overwhelming amount of numbers. Aizawa didn't hesitate before immediately putting on his goggles and jumping in, erasing quirks and kicking ass. Some of the larger group of villians started splitting off. Sakura lost sight of most of them and internally panicked.

The students around her started to understand the gravity of the situation, firing questions at their other teacher. "Why didn't the alarms go off?!", "Wait, how did they get in here so easily?"

Sakura was sick to her stomach and annoyed with all of the chatter, she wanted to focus. They were obviously on the attack, and they had to be prepared to defend themselves as a group. Numbers were not on their side. Her normally quiet voice came out sharp and cutting, "All of you, shut up! They're obviously attacking us so we need to focus on getting to the exit. Wondering "how?" right now is pointless!!"

A few of her classmates agreed, including the red and white haired boy next to her. Thirteen scolded her, "Kids, those are good questions. Mai, you need to calm down, panicking won't solve anything. I will protect you all!"

Todoroki spoke up from beside her. "Escaping might just get us out of the pan and into the fire. What if campus is being attacked as well? As for the alarms, someone might have a quirk that's masking their presence. Whatever their plan, they have an objective."

His words didn't soothe her panic. Aizawa was kicking ass below them, but they could tell he was struggling. They turned and started to run towards the door, insistent on at least getting backup, but a smoky purple mass (that resembled the portal from before, she noticed) rose from the ground, blocking their escape. A masculine disembodied voice echoed around them, and yellow eyes appeared. "We, the league of villians, have decided to invite ourselves into your school to say hello. We know it's impolite to stop by without notice, but we heard All-Might was going to be here and couldn't help ourselves. Sadly, I see no sign of him anywhere. We didn't foresee this. In the end, I suppose it doesn't matter."

This angered Katsuki, as most things did. She could see the blonde and a red-headed Kirishima dash in front of the group towards the hazy enemy. Sakura could only watch, heavy heart hitting the soles of her feet. '_These guys are fucking _morons_! How do they expect to punch smoke?!' _

They dashed in front of Thirteen, getting in the way of her finger prepared to create a black hole. The purple haze was laughing at them. Katsuki set off a huge explosion, but it did nothing. The boys started running at him again just as another portal opened up and they slid into it, unable to stop their momentum. Purple and black smoke surrounded them all without warning, and Sakura felt the breath leave her body as she was _pulled-_

And began falling. As the ground was rushing towards her she had a flashback of the entrance exams, when she was falling off the roof. Thankfully, she had experimented since then, and had learned how to land safely. Relying on Kirishima was becoming a bad habit of hers.

Her forearms created an 'X' in front of her face, trying to protect her eyes and head as much as possible. Making her ivory shoes as dense as possible, she pulled every joint and bone into each other as tight and densely as she could, effectively melding her skeleton into one giant unbreakable bone.

With a smash she landed on top of a sideways building, bone kneecaps and toes crumbling the cement like it was a sand castle. There was dirt and mud spilling from the windows, and she had to pull herself from soft earth mixed with rocky debri. Her hard landing had sent her straight through the weakened cement walls right into a mudslide, with half the building opening up into the trashed street. Shaking off the uncomfortable vibrations that were sent through her muscles and returning her skeleton to its usual flexible state, Sakura observed herself and her surroundings. She could feel a few scrapes and bruises, mostly on her exposed upper thighs and stomach, but otherwise she was unharmed. One of her clasps on her black suspenders looked like it was barely holding on. She shrugged it off, thinking if it broke she could tie it around her waist as a belt.

Dust and rubble fell inches in front of her face. Sakura moved just in time as a villian smashed into the area she had just been, sending dirt and cement into the air around them. She pulled a staff from the ivory of her arm bracer, no hesitation as she delivered a devastating blow to the side of his bald head.

Rotating the staff in her palm, she hit him with the opposite end even more forcefully. He fell back with a nosebleed, effectively KO'd. She almost felt guilty for hitting him so hard, she expected him to be a little stronger? She heard another boom behind her, and ran in that direction. Hopefully someone had been teleported here with her. Sakura was just thankful that they were still in USJ. The occasional villian would attack her, but most of them were coming at her with hand-to-hand combat. With all of her training, and with her quirk available to her, that was a very, _very _bad move on their part. More and more villians were attracted to her fights, and she found herself fending off a small group.

When Todoroki found her, she had a thin but sturdy oval shield manifested from her left arm bracer and a staff with vicious looking barbs down the shaft in her right hand. The barbs didn't bother her tough skin, but the hits were _painful_ for her enemies. Her shield looked flimsy but defended perfectly against those with long-ranged quirks while also bashing away anybody who got too close. When a particularly sneaky villian attacked from behind and she had to extend her shoulder blades into a giant wall to block, her classmate stepped in to help.

She didn't mind when he froze all of her enemies in place, although she was disappointed the fight was already over. She retracted her shields and stored her staff behind her, in between the black suspender and her sweaty lower back, the ends extending a few feet out on either side of her.

Her broken skull and crossbones clasp had given out after someone managed to snag it, and she finally had a moment to tie it around her waist. Her baggy shorts had been riding uncomfortably low the entire fight, exposing the armor on her left hip and top of her thigh. She was glad the other one didn't break too, the cute black shorts would have definitely been lost, and she would've been pretty exposed.

"Thanks Todoroki-kun! I was starting to get overwhelmed." He looked back at her, scoffing as he froze another villian that tried to ambush them. "You looked like you were handing yourself just fine. I saw how hard you landed when I was falling, I was worried you had gotten hurt."

The only scratches on her were the ones from her rough landing. For the most part, she had been able to attack and defend effectively. He didn't even have a single scratch on him, though, and she assumed his "red half" was unscathed under his ice armor. He spoke again, giving her information he had gotten out of one of their enemies before they ran into each other. "They're after All Might, they think they can kill him. He was supposed to be here today, so he might show up at some point. We should tell the others, but we need to get out of here to do that."

Sakura nodded in agreement, already having pieced that much together from the smoke villians words. The pair started making their way out of the muddy area. She didn't have to do very much work, Todoroki had faster reflexes than her and froze all of the villains that dared attack.

She huffed after frozen enemy number ten, getting annoyed with her uselessness. She decided to just skip along beside him, saving her strength.

If they had someone that could beat All Might, she couldn't be weak, she needed her bones at top strength. These guys were obviously just the distractions.

She silently hoped All Might was on his way. She really didn't feel like dying today.


	7. Fracture

Todoroki and Sakura had taken out a dozen or two villians when they heard an explosion and what sounded like a a splash, followed by a downpour of water hitting pavement. They took off in that direction at a much faster pace, finally having a solid idea of where some of their classmates might be. Todoroki was sliding forward on his ice, and the pale girl had fashioned a pair of ice skates on the bottom of her ivory shoes to follow behind him.

It took a lot of focus to get them sharp enough, but she managed. Looks like going ice skating with Chirako was a good idea after all, even if he ditched her to flirt with the cute girl that worked at the concession stands. She wouldn't have known how to keep up otherwise.

At their new speed it didn't take long before they reached the edge of the mudslide zone. Her skates crumbled from her shoes, she was done with them.

She could hear muffled explosions coming from somewhere nearby, and she knew Katsuki was fighting. Now that she knew he was okay, some of her anxiety ebbed away. Fighting could be heard almost on all sides, except from the direction they came from. "Todoroki-kun, which way? I want to help our teammates, not everyone has offensive capabilities."

The boy next to her huffed, "These villians are weak, if they can't handle them then they shouldn't be in the hero course."

Sakura glared, crossing her arms. "That's not it, and you know it. We all have our limits, and they had so many people..."

He kept walking, leaving her to stand alone. "They're going to try to kill All Might. They must have someone extremely powerful, and I can be support."

"What the hell?! Todoroki, if they have someone that can _kill All Might, _we don't stand a chance. We need to help our class and run! What if they decide that his students are the next best thing?!" He ignored her pleas, sprinting in the opposite direction. Lights around the arena were broken by a burst of air, work she could recognize as Midoriya's. Sakura heard a piercing scream from the large black dome next to her, decorated with red and orange flames, like a tacky motorcycle. She spared her classmate one last glance before rushing to the aid of whoever shouted, ignoring the glass that had begun to rain down from the attack.

When she finally found the entrance into the black dome, she started coughing. There was an alarming amount of smoke and fire in the air, explaining the fire decorating the outer walls. She heard more shouts and ran in that direction, dodging flaming obstacles that were both falling and laying on the ground. She had her arm covering her mouth and nose to filter as much of the smoke as she could, but it wasn't very effective. There was _zero _moisture in the air, and Sakura was upset she didn't have a hair tie. Her silver hair was already brown and grey from dirt, and now it was starting to stick to her neck and face from her sweat. She probably looked rather filthy at the moment, now that she realized.

It didn't take her long to see Ojiro battling three enemies at once, using his large tail to maneuver around them. Most of them were covered in burns or had singed clothing. Thankfully, her classmate looked completely unharmed. She removed her staff from its place behind her back and swung it into the closest enemies face just as her blonde classmate took out the other two, knocking the three down almost simultaneously.

"Woah Sakura-chan! You don't look so good." He eyed her appearance, taking in her tattered costume and muddy skin. She ignored the comment, beckoning him the way she came from. She retied the broken suspender around her waist, as it had started to slip. "I'll explain while we run, the exit is this way! I heard you fighting from outside so I came to help."

She led him to the exit, with the occasional villian with a fire quirk getting in their way. Sakura quickly realized fire was a bad match agaisnt her bones. Heat weakened them considerably, and she found herself going through multiple staffs. Her shields would protect the pair against any fire blasts, but once they took a physical hit they crumbled. The blonde haired boy made a good partner, flowing around her attacks efficiently, as he was used to martial arts. They made a good team.

Eventually they broke through the smoke, leaving the dome behind them. The fresh air stung and felt amazing at the same time. Her watering eyes cried in relief, finally able to see clearly, leaving tear tracks in the soot that dirtied her once pale skin. She pointed to the zone next to them as she tried to clean her face, although it didn't help, she just ended up with black smears all over her cheeks and forehead. "I was over there, with Todoroki. There was a lot more fighting going on before, I wanted to help look for our classmates, but he wanted to help the teachers. So we split up."

It had gotten a lot quieter, and the ball of anxiety in her stomach rolled around like a marble. No more Katsuki explosions or Midoriya-level destruction. She hoped her classmates were okay. The blonde smiled at her sincerely. "Well thanks for coming to help me, I appreciate it."

It was then they noticed a battered and bloody Aiwaza being carried to the exit by Midoriya and Tsuyu, with Mineta crying off the the side. The pair rushed over to help, happy to see familiar faces. The group of students and their unconscious teacher reached Mina, who was tending to a broken-looking Thirteen while the rest of the class guarded them. Looks like some people didn't get transported. Sakura set herself to being useful, taking in Aizawa's twisted arm, she tried to move it back in place as best as she could. Mina was looking at her panicked, trying to pull her away. "What are you doing Sakura?! That's hurting him!"

She kept working, only glancing at the pink girl as she kneaded the rest of his limbs, looking for any breaks. His right leg was pretty mangled as well, but everything else seemed fine. "In order to use my quirk, I have to have intimate knowledge on the human skeleton. I know exactly how everything is supposed to fit together, trust me. He's passed out right now anyways, this is the best time to do it."

Her classmate only watched with worry-filled eyes as the bones were being set. When everything was back how it should be, Sakura pulled six long, thin rods from her ivory bracer.

Not having any cloth to tie the splints to his leg and arms, and with Momo still missing in action, Sakura had to improvise. Creating a small, sharp bone from her fingertip, she sawed at her broken suspenders, cutting them into strips long enough to tie the splints to his arms and legs. Her baggy shorts had to be held up with her free hand until she could find a belt, but it was better for her teacher this way. They wouldn't have to be as careful moving him.

The other teacher was in much worse shape than Sakura could help with. She didn't even know where to start, so she settled with helping Ochako and Mina make Thirteen more comfortable. She tried to ignore the fight between All Might and the villians, every time she glanced over her eyes started to swim and she felt like she was going to black out. Half of the class was still missing, and she could only pray they were all still alive.

A large, purple, man-like creature screeched, and Sakura could hear shouting. Midoriya ran back into the fight, ignoring his peers cries to stop. Katsukis' voice rang out. Her head jerked to the scene, watching as the blonde boy held down the smoke villian that had transported them before in a grenaded grip. Todorokis' ice had frozen the crazed purple creature halfway through a portal, who had her blonde teacher caught in a bear hug. All Might freed himself with a jerk, looking battered but determined to win.

After watching that purple thing regrow his limbs, the pale girl had to hold back her bile. She couldn't tell if she was sick from the disturbing sight, or from pure fear.

Kirishima jumped in after his classmates, and Sakura lurched forwards herself. Her eyes went blurry with stress. They weren't in a good position right now. She started running, making herself as light as possible, knowing that it would take a while to get there, but maybe she could be fast enough to make _some _sort of difference. One hand was with focused on not dropping her shorts, the other was gripped in a fist as she ran. Mina screamed after her, but her cries were ignored.

Katsuki was missing one of his grenade bracers, his bare arm holding down the smoke villian by a cylindrical armored plate that had previously been hidden in the swirling darkness. There was a man with hands covereing his arms and face, just standing by. Blue-ish hair peeked out from behind his covered face. Sakura ran faster than before, a familiar tingle of anxiety rolling around her stomach. That man was bad news.

She couldn't just let her classmates fight while she stood and watched. If anything happened to them, there's no way she would be able to forgive herself. She didn't need even more blood on her hands.

She was so focused on the idle member of the fight, wondering why he wasn't fighting, that she almost missed the humanoid creature dashing straight towards her friends. She watched in slow motion as he tried to save his smoky ally, reaching for- "KATSUKIIII-"

**_BOOM_**

There was an explosion, and with her lightened density, the blast of air sent her tumbling. She was unable to brace herself, rolling head over heels across the hard floor. As soon as she reoriented herself, she looked up, scared of what she might see. Her throat hurt from her sudden scream, causing her to hack and cough.

Her headband had flown off when she tumbled, leaving her snowy hair to frame her face and horns. She ignored the dirty grey bangs tickling her eye, trying to assess the scene as the dust settled. The purple creature was standing where Katsuki once was, in a deep crater.

Her heart exploded in her chest. Her eyes felt like they were going to pop right out of her skull with how wide she stretched them. For the first time in her life, she felt _boneless._ Unable to hold herself up, she slid back to the floor, her exoskeleton armor thunking against the cement heavily.

All she could think of was the times she had watched the blonde boy from her bedroom window as a child, wishing she could go play hero with him. Wishing he wouldn't be so aloof towards her. She remembered all the times she heard his mom and him arguing over something insignificant as she walked home from the dojo. She remembered when their parents first introduced them to each other, Sakura timidly hiding behind her fathers' legs. She recalled the moment he had saved her, protecting her from the pervert on the train, how he had acted afterwards, pulling her through the paparazzi crowding the gates. Oh, god, what was she going to tell his _mother? _

_"SAKURA!" _Kirishima called out to her, bringing her out of her stupor. She quickly located the direction his voice was coming from, trying to stand up and see through the still-settling dirt in the air.

About forty feet away were her classmates, all of them unharmed. When sunflower eyes met a familiar pair of cherry red, she found the strength to start running towards them. Her eyes felt like they were burning, with a few tears of relief sliding down her grimy face.

"KATSUKI! YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" The blonde boy was sitting on the ground, so it was easy for her to reach out and slap the back of his head. He was not very happy with the surprise attack. "What the hell?!"

She fell onto her knees beside him, finally able to release her shorts. They wouldn't fall while she was sitting. He moved to block her, but she threw herself at him anyways, wrapping her pale white arms around his muscular shoulders and locking her scarred palms together behind him. "Hey! Get the fuck off of me, Snow White!"

Sakura pulled away quickly, growling at him. He had an elbow in between them, trying to get some distance. Her furious tone of voice and furrowed brows didn't hide the worried look or tears of relief that escaped from her golden eyes. "I'll hug you if I want, I thought you just died you asshole!"

He finally pushed her off, ears turning red. "I'm fine woman, now get off! There's still enemies around, if you hadn't noticed."

Todoroki spoke up from behind her as she rubbed the tears from her eyes, "Sakura, Midoriya, focus!"

Her pale face snapped back to the fight, along with Izuku, who had been staring into space. All Might had taken the blow for Katsuki, throwing him to safety. She was so happy that Katsuki was okay that she completely forgot the situation they were in. Dumb move on her part.

Thankfully the boys didn't comment on her slipping costume as she stood. Kirishima offered her his belt silently, which she took with an embarrassed thanks. If she needed to fight, she would need both hands.

The All Might and the villians were talking, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. Her blonde teachers looked incredibly serious. Todoroki spoke up, having taken lead, "We have them outnumbered at this point."

Kirishima nodded, gripping his fists as he responded, "We can take 'em down with All Might's help."

Scoffing at him, Sakura hopped to smack the back of his head like she had for his blonde friend not too long before. He dodged, sadly. "You idiot, you mean All Might can take them down with _our _help. What the hell were you two thinking back there, jumping in front of Thirteen?! Don't pull that again, you'll only get in the way. These guys could _decimate _us! I know it's hard for you wannabe heros, but play as goddamn support for once!"

Her two red-eyed classmates looked awfully sheepish at that moment, but Katsuki still seemed mad at her for invading his personal space. All Might's booming voice caught their attention, trying to put a stop to whatever they were planning. "Kids, get out of here, now!"

Sakura's split-haired classmate huffed at their teacher, not agreeing with his order. "No, if I wasn't here earlier, you would've been hurt! We can help!"

Sakura took a step back, but rejected the thought of running. No matter how much she wanted to escape this madness, she wouldn't forgive herself if she ran. Sure, she was shy, but Kent and Aiko Soto raised no coward.

A pale palm hovered over her braced forearm, unsure of wether she should withdraw a weapon. Would a staff do any good against smoke and something that could probably destroy it with a sneeze? All Mights' voice carried over to them once again, sounding rather strained. "This is different, Todoroki. It's gonna be alright, just sit back and watch a pro at work!"

Their mighty teacher was gone before they could protest. He met the creature with a catastrophic punch, sending waves of air over everyone and almost causing her to tumble once again. She probably would have, if she hadn't speared herself into the ground.

The fight picked up after that, imperceptibly fast. She couldn't even see where they were, but she could definitely hear and feel the results. All Might had to watch over them, making sure debri and the unattended two villains wouldn't harm them. Her voice was shaking as she spoke, "It's dangerous here guys, we should really go! We're in the way right now."

Explosions from all around sent cement and dirt flying. She couldn't even tell where they came from. These people were _leagues _above their level. The teens were frozen as a large blurry body slammed into the ground in front of them with a crack. She paused, leaning over the edge, unsure if it was enemy or ally. The creature began to climb out of the hole and reached to grab for her dangling white hair, only to be _slammed _with an uppercut from All Might and sent straight out of the domed ceiling, shattering the metal and raining debri on all of them. Sunlight streamed through the opening, shining light into her sensitive eyes.

The relief was amazing, knowing the most danergous being there was now long gone. Yellow eyes once again trained on the two villians panicking in front of All Might. Their desperation only made them that much more dangerous. No one could hear or understand their muttering. As everyone still stood in shock of the display of strength All Might just showed, they took action.

She would never have been able to predict where that smoking portal would materialize, or even have been able to stop it, but it was still painful to realize she once again wasn't fast enough as a bony hand with a dark sleeve shot out, moving to cup around a freckled face with green hair.

An exhale caught in her throat and she felt like she was choking. She raised her arm, aiming a scarred palm at the offensive appendage, knowing she wouldn't get there in time and would probably hurt herself in the process but she still had to _try-_

But she didn't have to, because a shot rang out. And then multiple shots, and then there was an explosion of noise as the Pros arrived on the scene. Midorya had been saved. Sakura stood in shock, lowering her arm. She couldn't even comprehend the villains fading into a smoky portal on the ground. As soon as the threat dissapeared, exhaustion hit her like a train. The next few hours were a blur as the pros rallied the teenagers and injured teachers, comforted the students, and took their reports. She couldn't remember how she went from the middle of the USJ to a police station, but it happened.

They treated it as a lesson on how to give a hero report, which Sakura was greatful for. She needed something to focus on. Giving a report was a long process. Identifying quirk users wasn't so hard once you have a description though, so Sakura sifted through the past hour of her day, explaining step by step who she encountered and what she observed. Recalling everything took longer than it actually took to happen. It helped her process what had actually just happened though, it had begun _so _fast she hadn't even realized what was going on before she was fighting for her life in the mudslide zone.

Todoroki would have been able to handle himself, she was sure, so she was glad she went to help Ojiro. It had been a hard call, she was just glad it worked out favorably.

Sakura was released into the custody of Aiko, who immediately fussed over her. Sakura listened to her mothers chatter as they got into their family's sleek black Volvo, driving home. She was finally able to unwind the singed bandages around her chest and ditch the burnt and sliced baggy shorts, putting Kiri-kun's belt to the side to return later. She assessed the ridiculous amount of cuts and bruises in her full length mirror, prodding at a few of the ones that looked particularly gnarly. Most were just from rough landings and debri, but some bruises were distinctly fist-shaped. Izuna is going to put her through the ringer for letting anyone hit her. He had some backwards logic sometimes, compared to most big brother figures, but she understands it's because he cares.

It's just that while most big brothers would beat up her assailant, Izuna makes sure Sakura never gets assaulted again. He does have a vengeful streak, though. Given a chance, he would gladly beat someone up for her, if they deserved it.

She hopped in the bath her mom prepared for her, soaking in the epsom salts and lavender fragrance that were thoughtfully added. The water was quickly turning a gross tan color as she washed away the soot, mud, blood, and overall grime.

After rinsing the tub and giving herself one last scrub in the shower, she fell into bed, skipping dinner and ignoring her mother's tentative questions. She was too exhausted to care. Blissful sleep overtook her instantly, and for the first time in a while, she didn't have a single dream.

Getting up was hard the next morning. She hugged her comforter close, staring at her blank white wall as she remembered everything that happened the day before.

They had given the entire school today off, which she was thankful for. She didn't know how to process everything. Her entire class was attacked by villains, the kind they would probably end up facing in their careers.

She had never actually been in a fight before, never had the opportunity to punch someone without holding back. It showed how strong she really _had _gotten. She KO'd grown men, broke a few of their bones, definitely landed a couple in the intensive care unit. It was _odd_ how strong she seemed against them, even though she still seemed so _weak _compared to someone like Izuna, who didn't even have a quirk to speak of.

Sometimes she forgot how fragile the average skeleton really is. Her favored method of blunt force left a pile of broken bodies in her wake. She tried not to think about her defeated opponents, instead refocusing on the blank white wall. Her mother called her for breakfast, but she pretended she didn't hear. Flipping so she layed on her stomach, she let out a muffled scream into her pillow, releasing some of the pent up emotion that had been making her heart clench since she awoke. She didn't know why she was feeling so uneasy, but she knew it was _something _from yesterday.

She had seen so many of her friends in danger, even inches from death, in Katsuki's case. She has to get stronger, has to get more creative. She has to find a way to protect people or she'll never be a decent hero. Creativity had always been one of her weaknesses. She never even liked fiction books, instead preferring to read about real events and people.

Her phone rang, bringing her out of her angst. She lifted her head from her pillow, narrowing her yellow eyes at the offending machinery as she picked at a knot in her hair, debating on whether to answer. The only people that ever called her was Aiko, Kent, and Chirako. Mom was here, and dad was probably already hard at work, so that left one person.

She answered, making sure her state of mood was clear in the tone of her voice. "Yeah?"

Instead of Chirako, she heard Izuna's baritone greet her back. "Heyyy Sakura~chan! So your mom told Aki-sensei about what happened yesterday, such a bummer. But since we're all free today now, how about we go out for brunch? Or we can do whatever you like, it's supposed to be your celebration for graduating and getting into UA after all."

Sakura paused, debating on if she felt like going out. It had been a long time since all of them did something together, and it was a good opportunity to get her mind off things, instead of moping around all day. She paused before answering, her voice cracking. Probably from all the yelling and screaming she did yesterday. "Who's paying?"

She could imagine the smirk on his face as he chuckled, "It's on Chirako again this time, don't worry!"

Meaning, Chirako probably lost another bet or contest of sorts. She heard a voice in the background of the call, probably the man himself protesting to his friends' comment. Sakura dropped her head again, putting the call on speakerphone so she didn't have to hold it. She was feeling really lazy this morning. "Fine. Brunch at Yuki-Uki's. And we're going to the shopping district afterwards, none of you have a choice. I'll throw a tantrum if anyone whines about it, we haven't gone shopping in forever."

Three collective groans could be heard from the other line. She smiled for the first time that morning. After saying goodbye and hanging up, she started getting ready for her day out. Looking out her window, she noticed leaves dancing around in the wind, so she wore dark blue jeans instead of a skirt. It had been getting cold lately. Skirts and wind don't mix.

A plain T-shirt with her parents' company logo came next, covered by a black hoodie a few moments later. It had cute pink cat ears on the hood, not really her style, but Chirako had bought it for her the last time they went to the shopping district. She knew he liked it when she wore the things he bought for her. He liked spoiling his "little sister".

Instead of her normal white tennis shoes she decided on wearing black converse, flipping the high-tops down so they don't rub against her ankles. The dark clothes made her white skin stand out like a beacon, and she tried not to be self conscious she she studied herself in the mirror.

They were already waiting outside for her by the time she was brushing her teeth and hair. She was in a hurry, throwing her wallet inside her pocket and saying goodbye to Aiko as she flew out the door. "Bye Mom! I'm going out with the guys, I don't know when I'll be home!"

She called something back, but Sakura couldn't quite hear it over the sound of the door slamming. The pale girl ran to Izunas' silver car, slipping in the backseat next to Keisuke and clipping on the seatbelt. Keisuke was yawning next to her, looking exhausted. "Wait, aren't you supposed to have school today too Kei?"

He threw an annoyed look at her, obviously in a rotten mood. "We had a million tests yesterday so we were given today off as a "reprieve". Thank god, those tests were horrible."

Sakura chucked, sending a sly sunflowery look at him. "So... you took the day off as an invite to stay out all night partying with your little delinquent friends?"

He smacked her in the back of the head, but not as hard as he usually would have. So she was right. They finally pulled up to her favorite cafe, Yuki-Uki's. It's actually pretty girly, not something Sakura is normally into, but the food was delicious and the service was always impeccable, so she simply tried to ignore all the doilies and pink lace adorning every inch. The servers were also _really _cute, the only reason her boys never complained about bringing her here.

Chirako was busy flirting with the waitresses, and Keisuke was nursing a coffee for his hangover. That left Izuna and Sakura to make small talk. She didn't mind, since she normally got overpowered by the other two's big personalities anyways.

Izuna was dressed more casual than usual, plain black skinny jeans with a black long sleeved shirt, with his waist-length black hair left out of its usual ponytail. He had a worried expression painted on his face, which was rather abnormal for the stoic man. Her food, a delicious looking mushroom and spinach omelette, had just barely arrived when he finally voiced what was concerning him. "Kura-chan, are you okay? If you want to talk about anything, I'm always here for you."

His question attracted the attention of the other two boys, who had stopped with their flirting and moping to pay attention to her reaction. Instead of answering, she took a bite of her omelette, savoring the taste. "Delicious as always, I love this place! Thanks for taking me here. Think we should order dessert for once?"

Keisuke rolled his eyes at her obvious deflection, and Izunas' face only creased with more worry. Chirako, like normal, wouldn't let her change the subject. He was the type of person that would rather clear the air than let things fester. The annoyed tone in his boyish voice made the fake smile drop from her face, and she realized how different she must have been acting all morning.

"Shut up. Your mom called us because she was worried about you. She hasn't ever seen you so despondent, in fact, she almost begged us to find out what happened. You're obviously not okay... so talk to us, before we tell Akihiko-sensei. We all know how he likes to deal with these things."

A shudder of fear ran through the four disciples, and a cold pit of dread opened in Sakura's stomach. She didn't want to talk about it. It scared her. But looking at the worried faces in front of her, she couldn't bring herself to lie to them. The threat of bringing their sensei into the matter made her really realize how important this was to them, and how much they cared about her. She shuffled in her seat, slipping her hands under her thighs so that the guys couldn't see how bad they were about to start shaking, as they had every time the scene played through her mind.

"Yesterday..." she started, immediately capturing their attention. She took a deep breath, trying to dislodge the knot that formed in her throat. "It was just supposed to be training, you know? That's what we thought it was at first. But then a portal opened out of nowhere, and Aizawa-sensei started fighting, and there were _so many _enemies. Someone with a transportation quirk split us apart, so I was on my own for a little while. People kept attacking me out of nowhere, I had no idea where they were coming from, I was too scared and overwhelmed to pull my punches. I was using my quirk too, I have no idea what kind of damage I did to those villains."

Izunas' eyes softened, analyzing a bruise peeking out from the collar of her shirt and a scrape on her cheek he had been trying to ignore since they picked her up. "Kura-chan, they were _villains _trying to attack you. You can't possibly feel guilty for-"

She shook her head vehemently, looking down at her lap. He paused his sentence, waiting for her to continue with her explanation. Her hair covered her face, and the three boys were secretly thankful they didn't have to look at the injury on her cheek any longer. The thought of their baby sister getting hurt, being put in that position, was infuriating.

"I don't feel guilty for hurting them, I'm just scared of my own power. I don't know what kind of damage I can do, and what if I _need _to pull a punch one day and I can't? And that wasn't even the _worst _part. I almost saw my friend get _killed _yesterday, Izuna. I was right there, and I couldn't do anything. I saw that creature go for him, I saw the explosion and the aftermath. If All Might wasn't there, we _all _would have ended up in a crater like that one."

She lifted her head, and locked eyes with each of her adopted brothers. "I'm scared of my own power, and I'm scared my power won't be enough to protect anyone. Am I even cut out to be a hero? Was this power wasted on me?"

She eyed her hands, once more focusing on the warped tissue. Yellow irises traced the fading pink scars, wondering if all that training was pointless after all.

Chirako's hands banged on the table, drawing the attention of the whole cafe. Their plates jumped, and Sakura had to catch her fork, which almost tumbled off the edge. Izunas' tea cup jumped off its plate, sending hot tea across the table. "The fact that you're even worried shows that you ARE! Sakura, for as long as we've known you, you've wanted nothing but to be a hero. We watched you transform from a weak little girl into a strong, capable young woman. You know what would be a waste? You throwing away all your hard work, just because you got a little scared. Newsflash, idiot, being a hero is scary work. You knew that. So why are you giving up now?!"

Keisuke glared at her, downed the rest of his coffee and stood up. She watched confused as he walked around the table to stand behind her. She didn't know what he was doing at first, but when he put her into a chokehold, and she knew what was coming. He gave her the hardest noogie she had ever gotten, mussing her hair and making her eyes water in pain. "Oowwwwwiieee~"

"Sorry, I just had to check your brain for any living cells left. Stop being such an idiot. Being a hero is your dream, of course we won't let you give it up that easily." His hold around her pale neck loosened until his arm was hanging casually around her shoulder, pulling her into a sideways hug. Izuna grinned at them all, the worry in his face finally fading. "Oh, I see. You've been holding back in spars then, have you? Doesn't that mean you're well versed in pulling your punches?"

Her mistake immediately became apparent. "Oh, I- Uh, you know, I was just scared of hurting you guys and-"

Kei's arm tightened around my neck again threateningly, "Don't worry, little imouto, you have nothing to fear!"

The mischievous look they all leveled at her would've been more concerning, if she didn't feel so relieved. A weight lifted off her shoulders, and she gave them her first genuine smile since she left school.

They quickly finished their meals and left the cafe, with Chirako embarrassingly apologizing to their waitress for making a mess of their table. They once again filed into the car, making their way to the shopping district.

Shopping, even if it was hated by all four in the group, was still fun. Chirako bought her a cute white choker she had been eyeing, reminding Sakura that she was quite spoiled. Izuna, being the model he was, still liked looking at all the new men's fashion, even if he hated trying it on or waiting in line to buy it. He was more of an online shopper. Keisuke only ever came shopping with them because they always stopped at the arcade, his favorite hangout spot. Sometimes they competed on who could get the highest Pinball score. Chirako wasn't allowed to participate though, since he would blow all of their scores out of the water.

Sakura hates shopping too, she just likes spending time with her best friends. Being so much younger, it felt hard to connect with them at times, but moments like these brought them all closer. They were definitely a family, through and through.

Sakura thought back to nine years ago, when she had been sleeping in a crowded room within a dirty orphanage, wearing third or fourth hand clothes, no family to speak of. She remembered the dirty looks passerby had sent her, and she remembered all the teasing she endured in school. She remembered being told that no one wanted her, that she was useless, that she was a freak. She was always told she had been left behind as a baby because no one loved her.

But her boys loved her. And Aiko, and Kent loved her. Akihiko-sensei loved her.

She wasn't useless, she set Aizawa-senseis' broken arm and leg while they waited for help to arrive, and she helped Ojiro find his way out of the fire dome.

She wasn't a freak, there were many much weirder than her. In a world with quirks, everyone was kind of a freak.

She didn't live in a dirty home with ratty clothes anymore. She didn't get dirty looks anymore, and if she gets teased, it's in good fun by her friends and classmates. Who all wanted her around and cared about her.

Even though the manifestation of her quirk made life hard in a lot of ways, she can't deny it also made her world better than she could have ever hoped.

She just wished it helped her memory too, because when Izuna dropped her off later that night, she realized once again, she forgot her keys. She slapped her cheeks in frustration when she realized she hadn't grabbed her keys when she grabbed her wallet.

She pulled her phone out to call Izuna to have him come back, only to see the dead battery symbol mocking her. If there was enough battery to tell her the battery was dead, shouldn't there be enough battery for a single phone call?!

Huffing, she sat on her front step, resigned to sit and wait for someone to come home once again. Her mother shouldn't be gone long, she must be grabbing dinner or something, and Kent could be home any minute.

She dozed off, pulling her arms from her sleeves into the body of her hoodie for extra warmth, tucking herself into her knees. She almost didn't hear the footsteps cross the street, but she did, and of course, who else would it be but Katsuki moving to sit next to her, a cigarette and lighter in his palm. After the day they had yesterday, she really doesn't blame him. They remained silent as he lit the fag, watching as the smoked disappeared with the wind. She slipped her arm out of her hoodie and took a drag when he offered it to her, coughing profusely. He smirked, but thankfully didn't make fun of her. The nicotine high hit her, and she enjoyed it while it lasted. It faded quickly, along with the rest of the cigarette Katsuki was puffing through. They just sat next to each other, thinking.

Sakura didn't know what all that was about, but it was kinda nice. Before long, Aiko pulled onto their street, and Katsuki walked back to his house without a word. When she parked in the driveway, Sakura went to help her with the grocery bags. The tall woman gave her an apprehensive glance. "Hey, girlie. You seem like you're feeling better! Was that Katsuki, by the way?"

The girl nodded, white hair swishing around her face and shoulders. "Yeah. And yeah, I feel better. What's for dinner tonight?"

Aiko sighed, slightly frustrated with how closed-off her daughter was being, but thankful her mood had improved. She held up a package of Cod, showing the teen. "I'm thinking something light, how does fish sound?"


End file.
